


Wings Broken By Despair

by KaryuuNoKyuubiNinja



Category: Dangan Ronpa, haikyuu
Genre: Angst, Blood Loss, Characters of Haikyuu, Crossover, Decapitation, Drowning, Gen, Murder, Plot of Dangan Ronpa, Possible KageHina? I haven't decided yet, Suicide (in one chapter), Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2018-09-10 15:14:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 71,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8922037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaryuuNoKyuubiNinja/pseuds/KaryuuNoKyuubiNinja
Summary: A crossover containing the characters of Haikyuu and the basic plot of Dangan Ronpa. Everything they knew was turned upside down after they awake in the prestigious school of Hope's Peak Academy, only to discover that they're locked in... By a sadistic teddy bear? There's only way to escape: Kill one of your classmates without being caught. Now, they need to find the answers to the all of the questions surrounding their situation. Why were they chosen? Why are they being forced to kill each other? Who's the one controlling Monokuma? Who's the Mastermind? And, most importantly, How do they get out of here alive?





	1. Prologue - Welcome To The Despair Club

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, sorry if this is terrible and cringy... This is my first fanfic. This is for my friend, Emerald, who basically begged me to write this crossover... Happy now, you crazy psycho? Anyway, this was inspired by a fanmade trailer for a HQ/DR Crossover that we found on YouTube. I'll try to update regularly, but I'm easily distracted and I have quite a bit of school work to focus on, so sorry if I take a while... And just so you know, the majority of the chapters will be split into three sections: Daily Life, Deadly Life, and Class Trials, just like the games. Soooo... Yeah, feel free to check out my tumblr, it's the same as my username on here. I'm so sorry for killing off these adorable characters who have never done anything wrong... Blame Emerald, she made me do this. Feel free to guess who the survivors will be and how many there'll be... I'm just gonna shut up now, so I hope you enjoy!!!

Hi there! My name is Shoyo Hinata. I’m a first year at Karasuno High School, and I’m a middle blocker in the boys’ volleyball team. I know what you’re thinking: ‘He’s way too short to play volleyball!’ Well, I may be small, but I can fly! I’m gonna become the ace of the team, and then I’ll become the next Little Giant!

…Or, at least I thought so. Everything changed on a normal day, I never saw it coming. It was after school. I was the last one left in the classroom, finishing up the cleaning before heading to the gym for volleyball practise. Then, out of nowhere, a white smoke appeared. It flowed everywhere, filling the entire room with its suffocating scent. I tried to hold my breath, but failed miserably. As the smoke filled my lungs, my mind became fuzzier and fuzzier, until I eventually passed out.

When I woke up again, I was in a classroom… But, definitely not the same one. I was sat at a desk, for some reason. I noticed a trail of drool dripping from the corner of my mouth as I pushed my head up from the desk it was resting on. “Geh!” I quickly wiped the drool away, hoping that nobody was around to see that embarrassing moment. I rose from the chair I was sat in, and scanned my eyes across the room. My sight fell onto a small information guide that was lying on the teacher’s podium. I picked it up, and read the cover. “Welcome to Hope’s Peak Academy!” was written in bright red letters at the top of the page. It looked like something my little sister would draw with her crayons… There’s no way that this thing is for real… “Wait a minute…. Hope’s Peak Academy? That name sounds familiar… WAH!! I-Isn’t that the school that only scouts the most talented high schoolers?!” Was it possible that I was somehow scouted to be a Hope’s Peak Academy student? No… There’s no way… As I tried to think of an explanation about the whole situation, I noticed that there was more writing on the information guide. “All new students meet in the gymnasium at 8:30AM!” After reading that, I glanced towards the clock that I noticed earlier. The time said ‘8:25AM’. “Crap! I’m gonna be late!” I shouted to myself in shock, as I sprinted out of the room at full speed. 

As I ran, it occurred to me that I have no idea where the gymnasium was. I quickly skidded to a halt and took another look at the information guide. I opened it up to look at the inside pages, only to discover that there was a map of the area of the school that I was in. I gave a quick sigh of relief, then took off in a light jog in the direction of the gymnasium. As I jogged through the hallways, a sense of anxiety started to grow, as I realised that I hadn’t seen any other people in the school so far. I know that the information guide said to meet in the gymnasium, but it only said ‘new students’. It’s halfway through the school year, why aren’t there any other students, or older students, or teachers? It made absolutely no sense, and it worried me. I was pulled out of my thoughts when I realised that I had arrived at the doors leading to the gymnasium. I took a deep breath, and swung the doors open.

I stepped through the doors, as they made a loud, creaking sound that echoed through the gym. There were already people there… And I recognised all of them! “W-What are you doing here?!” I shrieked, confusion clear in my voice. “Hmph… Shouldn’t we be asking you that, Hinata, you dumbass?” Huffed Tobio Kageyama, one of my teammates from the volleyball team. He’s the setter, and his tosses are the best! They’re all ‘Gwah!’ and ‘Boom!’ you know? He had his usual scowl plastered on his face. This is why he doesn’t have any friends… It’s such a shame that he doesn’t realise this… “Did you wake up in a classroom, too? Tsukki and I woke up in the same classroom!” A question was directed at me by another teammate of mine, Tadashi Yamaguchi. “Shut up, Yamaguchi” Came the usual grouchy voice of the beanpole stood next to Yamaguchi, Kei Tsukishima. “Sorry Tsukki!” Yamaguchi quickly chimed. This was their usual routine, it was nice to see that they were the same as ever, even in this crazy situation. “Yeah… I did… Although, I was all by myself…” I mumbled in response to the question. 

“Yo! Shoyo! Are you all right?!” The loud voice of the team’s libero, Yuu Nishinoya echoed through the entire room. “Yeah! If you need anything, just ask your trusty Senpai!” Added Ryuunosuke Tanaka, another one of my Senpai from the team. “Would you please calm down? We need to carefully think about what on earth’s happening.” A more sensible voice interrupted the loud ramblings of the two second years. It was Chikara Ennoshita, the more level-headed of the club’s second years. I looked over to the left of the room, and saw exactly who I expected to see: The three third years of the volleyball club. Our captain, Daichi Sawamura, our vice-captain, Koushi Sugawara, and our ace, Asahi Azumane. Asahi was nervously fidgeting with his hands, Daichi was quietly looking at everyone else in the room, and Sugawara noticed me staring at him. He gave a small, comforting wave, and pointed to side, as if he was trying to direct my attention somewhere else. I shifted my gaze to where Sugawara was pointing, only to be greeted with the gaze of our team’s two mangers, Kiyoko Shimizu and Hitoka Yachi. And there was also another girl from our school, a friend of Daichi’s. I think her name was… Yui Michimiya? She’s the captain of the girls’ volleyball team, if I remember correctly. Kiyoko gave me her usual silent nod, while Yachi nervously waved at me. I gave a small wave back, then turned to look at the people stood on the other side of the gym. 

The people stood on this side were not people I was expecting to see. The first person to catch my eye was Tooru Oikawa, the Grand King of Aoba Jousai’s volleyball team. He casually smirked at me, and greeted me with “Yahoo, Chibi-Chan! What brings you here?” The mocking tone of his voice obviously irritated the guy stood next to him, as he whacked Oikawa over the head. “Shut your mouth, Trashykawa!” I recognised him as the ace of Aoba Jousai, Hajime Iwaizumi. I always thought that he was awesome, but I was also too scared to talk to him because of how big he is… “Ow! That hurt, Iwa-Chan!” As Oikawa complained loudly, the two other third years of Aoba Jousai started snickering with each other, their names were… Issei Matsukawa and Takahiro Hanamaki. I also noticed that there were two of the second years, Shigeru Yahaba and Kentarou Kyoutani. They seemed to keep together, away from everyone else. It looked like they were quietly discussing something, but I couldn’t quite hear what they were saying. 

Although, I was even more surprised when I saw some of the members of the Shiratorizawa team! There was their ace, Wakatoshi Ushijima, whose spikes are terrifyingly powerful! There was two of their setters, Semi Eita and Kenjirou Shirabu. They’re both good, but not as good as Kageyama! Then there was their creepy guess blocker, Tendou Satori. He can block just on instinct, he was a reeaallyy frightening opponent. “Ohhh~ what do we have here~? Karasuno’s tiny number 10~?” A shiver ran up my spine as he asked that question in his usual mocking tone. And then, finally, their first year ace-wannabe, Goshiki Tsutomu. I actually quite liked him, he was really similar to me, and his was a great opponent!

“Anyway” Daichi finally spoke up. “Does anyone have any idea why we’re all gathered here?” His question was only answered by the shaking of heads, shrugging of shoulders, and mumbles of the word “no” Ushijima then raised his concerns with the situation. “Why has this particular group of people been gathered here? Especially since none of us have ever displayed the slightest interest of being enrolled into this school?” I had to admit, he had a good point. It made no sense at all. However, everyone was pulled out of their thoughts when a weird voice came booming through the speakers. “Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3! Ahem! Welcome, honoured students, to your new life at Hope’s Peak Academy! I am your headmaster…” As the voice paused, a monochrome teddy bear appeared out of nowhere and casually took a seat on the speaker’s podium. “…Monokuma!” None of us knew how to respond to this… Thing that had introduced itself as the headmaster. We didn’t know whether to take it seriously, or to laugh at it. Now that I had got a better look at ‘Monokuma’ I noticed that it’s left side, which was white, had a normal, cute appearance of any teddy bear, but it’s right side, which was black, had a creepy demon-like grin and a glowing red eye. I didn’t know what this thing was, but I knew that I shouldn’t trust it. “What the hell is that?” Someone had finally spoken up. I looked in direction that the voice had come from, it was Semi Eita. He had his arms folded across his chest, and his face did not look impressed. “My, my, how rude of you, young man! I am not a ‘that’! I am Monokuma!” Eita’s face didn’t change. He still looked unimpressed with our self-proclaimed headmaster. “U-Um… I don’t mean to interrupt but…” The nervous voice of Yachi spoke up, barely above a whisper. “Yes? If you have a question, please ask away, dear student!” Monokuma’s reply only seemed to make Yachi more anxious. “U-Uh… It’s just… I haven’t got my phone with me… Has it been taken?” Her question suddenly set everyone into motion, as they all frantically checked all of their pockets for their own phones. I checked as well, but I couldn’t find anything at all. My anxiety levels steadily began to increase as a sense of unease filled the gymnasium. “Ohhhh. That! Well, you see, I confiscated all of your phones. I figured that there was no real need for you guys to keep in contact with the outside world, especially since you’ll all be staying here for the rest of your lives!” It took a while for Monokuma’s comment to sink it, but once it did, everyone raised their voices in panic. “W-What do you mean that we’ll be here for the rest of our lives?! Are we locked in?!” I shouted, fear laced in my voice. “I meant exactly what I said, short stuff. And, yes! You are locked in the school! With absolutely no way out at all!” Monokuma threw his arms up in air, as he made that declaration. A feeling of dread formed at the pit of my stomach, making me feel sick. “Well… Actually, I lied. There is one way to get out of this school…” Monokuma pondered out loud, almost as if he was mocking us. “What?! What is it?!” Kageyama demanded. 

“Kill one of your fellow classmates without being caught” Monokuma stated in a sadistic voice. “Wh-What…?” Kiyoko breathed out, with a look of disbelief. “You heard me, Missy! It doesn’t matter how you do it! Stab, bludgeon, slice, beat, decapitate, incinerate, asphyxiate, etc. etc.!” My legs started shaking, I could barely hold myself up. I felt myself start to fall to floor, but then stop when an arm reached round to keep me standing. It was Sugawara. “It’s okay, Hinata. He’s obviously lying. There’s no way that he’s telling the truth” He whispered to me in a comforting voice. I took a shaky breathe and nodded back at him. “Yeah, you’re right… There’s no way that this real…” Although, uncertainty could clearly be heard in my voice. It was obviously that I was trying to tell myself that none of this was real. “What kind of bullshit is this?! None of us would ever kill anyone!” Iwaizumi shouted at the plush bear, rage clear in his voice. “Well then, I guess you’ll all just stay in this school forever… Well! I’ve made all of my announcements! Check your student handbooks for the rules and a map of the school! And go check out your dorm rooms! Bye bye, everybody! Feel free to explore! Upupupupu…” As Monokuma disappeared from the stand, his weird laughter echoes through the gym.

I didn’t know what to do. I just stood there, dumbfounded. “Hey, Hinata? Are you okay? Why don’t we go look around together?” Suga’s voice shocked me back into real life. “U-Uh, yeah…” I reluctantly agreed. I didn’t know if my legs could carry me anywhere. “Suga has a good point. If we all examine the maps on our e-handbooks and look around the school, we may be able to find something helpful. Why don’t we split into teams? Let’s see, we have… 24 people here, so why don’t we split into six groups of four? And then we could all meet up again to share our discoveries. How about we meet up in the cafeteria?” Daichi announced to everyone in the room. They all looked a little apprehensive at first, but then agreed with Daichi’s plan. “All right, so here’s how we’ll split up…”

My group, which consisted of me, Sugawara, Kageyama, and Nishinoya, had been assigned to check the entrance hall and trash room. The entrance hall was obviously the first place we thought of when we considered our possibilities to escape. However, those ideas were immediately obliterated when we saw the giant door, bolted tight with huge iron locks, and two sentry guns scanning the area. My legs started shaking again, when I imagined what would happen to me if I got too close to the towering door. “What… the… fuck…?” Kageyama uttered, disbelief clear in his voice. “T-This is a joke, right? They don’t actually work, right?” Nishinoya nervously chuckled. This is how I knew that this was dire situation, it takes a lot to unnerve Nishinoya. “Well… We’ll have to test it out…” Suga’s voice rang out, with a sense of calmness in it, but the cool façade seemed forced… He was trying to stay calm for our sake. He rummaged around in his pocket and brought out a shiny, scarlet lighter. “Suga-San! I didn’t know that you smoked!” Nishinoya exclaimed, clearly shocked. Suga shook his head. “It’s not mine. It’s Coach Ukai’s, he left it in the gym by accident, so I was planning on returning it to him… But, then I was knocked unconscious, and you know the rest…” All of us looked to floor as he finished his sentence, we were all just so bewildered by these crazy events. Suga spoke up again. “Anyway, if these guns do work, they’re probably motion activated… So, let’s use this to test them” The rest of us understood what he meant, so we all took a large step back, we really didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire… Suga swiftly tossed the lighter into the air and towards the guns. Just as he suspected, the guns sprung to life, quickly jerking in the direction of the lighter and firing a storm of bullets, instantly tearing it apart. We all just stood there. Terrified. The realisation hit us: if we went too close to the door, those same guns would mercilessly slaughter us.

A slight gasp broke me out of my thoughts, I turned to see who it came from. It was Suga. There was a cut on his right cheek, and bright red blood was pouring from it. “Suga-San! A-Are you all right?!” I shrieked at the top of my voice. Suga gingerly placed a hand to his cheek, and gave a forced smile. “I-I’m fine… O-One of the bullets must have just grazed my cheek… That’s all…” Suga was clearly terrified by what just happened, he was trying to act calm, but the stuttering and the cracks in his voice made his true feelings obvious. We were all just frozen in place, staring at the injury on Suga’s face in horror. “L-Let’s just go and check the trash room… I-I don’t really want to stay here in the entrance hall…” Suga suggested in a quiet, shaky voice. Everyone instantly agreed with him. Kageyama took out his e-handbook and tapped on the icon to bring up the map. He hummed in thought as he noticed something. “What is it? Something wrong?” Nishinoya questioned him, tilting his head in curiosity. “There’s some other icons, to examine the other floors of the school… But, I can’t click on them…” Kageyama muttered, clearly confused by this detail. To be honest, I’m surprised that he could notice something like that… Sure, he notices everything while we’re playing volleyball, but he’s brainless when it comes to anything else… “So… What? Can we not go to the other floors or something?” I asked, as that thought came to mind. “Could be… Well! We weren’t assigned to check out any other floors, so let’s just go to the other room that we were told to check out!” Nishinoya perked up, in an attempt to lift our spirits. “R-Right… So, we were told to check out the entrance hall - which is here – and the trash room, which is… Here.” Kageyama announced as he poked the room on the map. We all leaned in to get a better view of the map. “Okay, so we’ve just gotta walk down this corridor on the left, and it’s the first room on the right, right?” Suga pondered out loud. We all glanced at each other, and then towards the corridor we needed to travel down. And then, without another word, we started walking towards the trash room, keeping hope that we might be able to find something to help us escape.

After wandering down the corridor for a little while, we arrived at the trash room. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t stink in there…” I muttered. Noya-San nodded in agreement, crossing his arms as he did so. “Seriously, why are we the ones who got stuck with the trash room?” Kageyama groaned. I don’t blame him, it’s unfair. Suga just glimpsed over his shoulder, and then silently opened the door. He hadn’t said a single word since we left the entrance hall… He was clearly traumatised by what happened, I just wish I knew what to say to comfort him… I held my nose as I entered the room, preparing myself for the horrible smells… That weren’t actually there. I was surprised at how clean this trash room was! There was a small area that kept all the cleaning equipment: buckets, mops, gloves, etc. There was also an area for all of the cleaning fluids, such as bleach. But the main thing that caught my attention was giant incinerator at the back of the room. “Whoa! Is it safe to have an incinerator that big in a freaking school?!” Noya-San squawked at the top of his voice. “Y-Yeah… Isn’t that dangerous?” I whimpered, as fear started to take over me again. 

“Why yessiree!! That’s why you gotta be extra careful, kiddo!!” I yelped as a loud voice cried out from nowhere. Everyone else just flinched and snapped their heads around to look behind me. I shakily peeked over my shoulder… And saw Monokuma. “W-W-Where’d you come from?!” I screeched in surprise. “Geez shorty, you really should pay more attention to your surroundings, you know that?” The strange bear sighed while shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. “Anyways, you really should be careful around that incinerator, we wouldn’t want you falling in… Or burning any incriminating evidence… Now, would we?” The plush toy spoke in a slow, mocking tone that irritated me. He was clearly trying to persuade us to murder someone by giving us ideas on how to get away with it… I grinded my teeth to hold back my rage. As I glared at Monokuma, something else caught his attention. “Oooooh!! What happened to Mr. Refreshing over here??? Did someone get into a little trouble with my precious Gatling guns?” Suga’s eyes widened at Monokuma’s taunting comment. “Well, that’s what happens to naughty little boys who don’t follow the rules~ it’s a shame that the gun didn’t turn you into Swiss cheese! I would’ve loved to have seen all the blood pouring out of all those holes, and that terrified look in your blank, dead eyes!! Upupupu~ Gahahahahaha!!!” Suga winced as Monokuma laughed at his broken down state. I noticed that the hand he was holding against his cheek had begun trembling at Monokuma’s gruesome daydream. “Welp, I gotta go, headmaster stuff to do and such. See ya later, ya little bastards! Remember not to play with fire!” And, while laughing at his own crappy pun, he plodded out of the room and disappeared around the corner. We all turned to stare at Suga with a worried gaze. He was just staring at floor, squinting his eyes as if he was trying not to cry, and clutching his injured cheek. None of us knew what to say… What could we say? There was tense silence for a good few minutes, until Kageyama spoke up. “Why don’t we head over to the cafeteria? Everyone’s probably waiting for us…”Noya and I nodded, and then glanced at Suga. “Yeah…” Was all he could say in response. And so, with a tense atmosphere surrounding us, we began our walk over to the cafeteria to meet up with everyone else.


	2. Chapter 1 - Love Leads to Fear, Fear Leads to Death, Death Leads to Despair - Daily Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The students report all of their findings from their investigations and Monokuma gives them their first motive, but will it be enough to persuade someone to kill?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been writing non-stop for about five hours, because I got a sudden flash of inspiration... My fingers ache from typing so much...  
> I hope you enjoy the new chapter, and sorry for the start of the angst!! ^_^''

There was a heavy atmosphere weighing down on our group as we entered the cafeteria. We were the last ones to arrive, so we had the stares of everyone else burning into us. “Sorry we’re late…” Kageyama muttered half-heartedly. Everyone either shook their heads or made small hand gestures to say ‘don’t worry about it’, except Oikawa, who scoffed. The tense atmosphere lifted a bit, but then Daichi suddenly jumped out of his seat. “Suga! What the hell happened to you?! Are you all right?!” He interrogated as he raced towards Suga and examined the still bleeding cut on his cheek. Suga averted his gaze from Daichi as he answered him. “I had a bit of an accident” He deliberately gave a vague answer, to avoid remembering the traumatizing incident. “The hell do you mean, ‘an accident’?!” Daichi persisted to get a clear answer out of Suga. He suddenly spun round to stare at Kageyama, Nishinoya, and I, the three that were with Suga the entire time. A cold chill ran up our spines as Daichi’s stern, concerned glare froze us to our cores. I felt conflicted. Do I make Suga feel better by keeping my mouth shut? Or do I tell Daichi the truth that he wants to hear? I opened my mouth to say something, but closed it when a nauseous feeling filled my stomach. My internal struggle was put to an end, when Kageyama spoke up. “We were testing something in the entrance hall, the result was something we weren’t expecting.” He stated in a monotone voice as he stared at the floor, with immense guilt in his eyes. “What the hell were you testing?! What could you possibly do that results in Suga getting injured?!” Daichi screamed at us, clutching onto Suga’s shoulders as if he was trying to protect him. Suga simply squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip, clearly trying to hold back his anxiety. “If I may butt in” Everybody flinched as a voice broke the uncomfortable silence. It was Ushijima. “I assume you’re talking about the guns by the entrance doors? I noticed them as I walked past to examine the dorms” He spoke in his usual emotionless tone, but… That was a slight hint of concern in his voice… Daichi’s eyes widened in horror, as he turned to face Suga again. “G-Guns…?” He quietly repeated that single word, as if it had been burned into his mind. Suga took a deep breath, like he was preparing himself. “Yeah… We saw the guns and wondered if they used motion sensors… So, we tested it out… And a bullet caught my cheek.” He explained in a timid voice. Nobody knew how to respond. They just sat there in stunned silence. I felt dizzy as I remembered how terrifying the shower of bullets was, and struggled to keep my balance. An arm wrapped around my waist to keep me standing upright. The arm belonged to Kageyama. “Calm down. It’s all right.” He said those words in such a bland tone, but they were somehow comforting. The silence was finally broken by Kiyoko. “Well, I’m just glad that you’re still alive” She gave a gentle, soothing smile as those words left her lips. This comment caused Iwaizumi to speak up, too. “Yeah, I find it pretty damn impressive that you walked away from that with just a scratch!” Suga blinked in surprise, unsure how to respond. He just let his eyes drift to the floor, as he had a conflicted look on his face. “A-Anyway, why don’t we talk about what we found in our investigations?” Yui suggested, her mouth spread in a nervous smile. “Sure! Let’s just skip the awkward silence!” Oikawa chimed in. “Let’s see… Why don’t you start, Mad Dog-Chan?” Everyone directed their gaze onto Kyoutani after Oikawa’s suggestion. “Tch” Kyoutani just scoffed, as he scowled and turned away. Yahaba, who was stood next to him sighed and spoke up. “We searched for any staircases that could lead to the other floors. We found the stairs to the second floor, but there was shutter blocking it off and we couldn’t find anything to unlock it, so it looks like we can only check out the first floor at the moment” The other members of that group, Eita and Yachi, nodded to confirm Yahaba’s report. So, that’s why the icons on the map don’t work… Tsutomu was the next to speak up. “Ushijima, Satori, Shirabu, and I investigated the dorm area. There wasn’t much there, but it seems that each of us have our own individual rooms. Apparently, every room has the same layout, and contains a bed, a desk, a bathroom, and a random gift left by Monokuma. He told us that each person’s ‘gift’ is different.” We all just stared at him. “Wait… You spoke to Monokuma?!” Eita quizzed, disbelief clear in his voice. “Yup, you heard right, Semi-Semi!” Satori replied in a nonchalant manner. “Don’t call me that” Eita retorted instantly. “He just came out of nowhere, told us about the rooms, then suddenly disappeared…” Shirabu explained, but it clear that he was pretty confused by what happened. “The same thing happened to our group actually… Monokuma appeared while we were investigating the kitchen.” Yui stated, as if she was trying to comfort Tsutomu. We all looked at her teammates, waiting for them to confirm Yui’s statement. Iwaizumi, Kiyoko, and Oikawa all agreed with what Yui said. Iwaizumi continued for Yui. “Yeah, he appeared out of nowhere when we were examining the fresh foods. We were debating how long the food should last us…” Kiyoko carried on Iwaizumi’s recount. “Yes, that’s when it appeared. He told us that we won’t run out of food, as all of the food, fresh, frozen and packaged, is replenished each day, depending on the amount that was consumed the day before” Well, as least we won’t starve to death… That’s something I guess… “Yeah, and then he just disappeared, as if he hadn’t been there at all” Oikawa added, with a slight pout on his face, displaying his irritation at our situation. “I’ll go next!” Yamaguchi piped up. “Tsukki and I investigated the cafeteria with Matsukawa and Hanamaki. We got our hopes up a bit when we saw the plants and sky through the window, but then they turned out to be artificial…” He had started out as optimistic, but his face fell as he finished his report. “Yeah, Monokuma appeared in front of us, too. He said that the artificial sunlight is supposed to make us feel more relaxed, and get a better idea of what time it is.” Matsukawa added in a bored voice. “Yup, he said ‘you kids would get really bored just checking the clocks for the time, so I added a more natural way of time-telling!’” Hanamaki continued, with an impression of the plush toy in question. Matsukawa started snickering at the impression, while Tsukishima just clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes in disgust. “Ok… Ignoring that… Looks like we’re up next” Daichi spoke up, awkwardly. “We had to investigate the last three rooms on this floor: The multi media room, bathhouse, and the swimming pool. The bathhouse and swimming pool are both locked. Monokuma said that they’d be unlocked after we do something, but when we asked him what, he just walked off laughing…” He trailed off, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. “Yeah, and then we checked out the multi media room. This one was unlocked, and it contained a large projector and about 25 desks, each with a small computer screen and DVD player on them, other than that, there wasn’t really anything else…” Ennoshita finished off their report, in a matter-of-fact fashion. Tanaka and Asahi both just exchanged glances over the fact that neither of them had to say anything. “And, looks like we’re last…” Kageyama sighed. Everyone suddenly tensed up, probably worried to hear about our findings after learning about Suga’s injury. “Well, I would advise everyone to stay away from the main entrance door, the Gatling guns use motion sensors, and so they’ll detect and shoot you if you walk a certain distance near the door.” Suga stated, concern clear in voice. He obviously didn’t want anyone else to experience that. “Yeah, and then there’s the trash room, there’s plenty of cleaning supplies like brooms, trash bags, bleach, everything basically…” I added, trying to dodge talking about the guns. “But, the main thing about the trash room is that there’s a giant incinerator, I think it’s best if we don’t go near unless we’re getting rid of trash, just to be safe.” Noya finished our report for us. Everyone looked deep in thought. 

“So, what you’re saying is, we’ve found absolutely nothing to help us get out… Those investigations meant nothing.” Tsukishima concluded with a spiteful voice. We all sat there in silence. We hated to admit it… But, he was telling the truth… We spent the entire day searching, and we’re still trapped here… Our thoughts were interrupted by the monitor in the corner of the room turning on. We all directed our attention to the monitor, wondering why it turned on by itself. A few seconds later, the image of Monokuma appeared on the screen. “Attention, all students! It is now 10PM, Night-time is now in effect, and the cafeteria will locked in a few minutes. Nighty Night! Sleep tight! Try not to get murdered tonight!” And with that, the screen flickered and turned off. After that announcement, we all just stared at each other. “Well… I guess we should return to our dorms for tonight… We’ll discuss what to do next in the morning. Good night, everybody.” Daichi broke the silence, as he stood up and began to exit the room. A chorus of ‘Goodnight’s’ rang out as everyone else followed Daichi to the dorm area. I didn’t move from where I stood. I was just… Overwhelmed by everything that had happened today. I bit my lip, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill from my eyes. As I stood there, a hand gripped my wrist, pulling my hand towards its owner. Kageyama. “C’mon dumbass, you don’t wanna be locked in here overnight” Even though he used his usual insult, there didn’t seem to be any anger or irritation behind it, it was more… Concern… I blinked my tears away before looking at him in eyes and replying. “Okay…” And, with that, he gently dragged me off towards the dorms.

The dorm room wasn’t anything special. It’s just as Tsutomu described it. A bed with a bedside table a lamp next to it, a desk with a notepad, pen and pencil on top of it and a small bin next to it, a potted plant near the door, a monitor on the wall near the bed, a small armchair tucked into the corner, and my ‘gift’… A baseball bat… There was a note tucked underneath it. “Feel free to use it however you want! And remember to have fun!” I grunted at Monokuma’s taunting note before scrunching it up into a tiny ball and shoving it into the bin. I looked up and noticed another door. I carefully opened it and checked out the interior. It was the bathroom, a very basic bathroom at that. There was just a toilet, sink, and shower, nothing else. Well, at least there’s everything I need… I let out an exhausted sigh as I shut the door and collapsed onto my bed. “Why did this happen to us…?” I muttered into the sheets as my fatigue took ahold of me and dragged me into sleep.

I groaned as I was woken up by the sound of the monitor turning itself on. “Gooooood Morning, everybody! It’s 7AM! Time for another beautiful day of mutual killings! Get your asses moving!!” And, just like the night-time announcement, the monitor flickered and turned off. I forced my body to sit up, yawning as I rose to a sitting position. I began to rub the sleep out of my eyes as I started to wonder what everyone else would be doing right now… They’d probably be heading over to cafeteria to discuss what to do today, but I didn’t really want to do that… I dunno, the idea of it just stressed me out, and I wasn’t really hungry anyway… I ran my hand through my bedhead as I debated what to do. Oh yeah, there’s a gym in this school… I guess I’ll just practise serves by myself, it’ll help me calm down anyway… So, I sleepily pushed myself off the bed and started my walk over to the gym.

To my surprise, there was already someone in the gym. It was the Grand King. As I was debating whether to enter the gym or to just walk away, he noticed me out the corner of his eye. “Mornin’ Chibi-Chan, came to practice too? Feel free to join…” He greeted me with a tired smile. Looks like he didn’t get much sleep last night... “Oh, uh, thanks Oikawa-San” I awkwardly replied as I entered the room. “You wanna practice spikes? I’ll happily toss to you” He suggested as he gently threw the volleyball over to me. That woke me up. “Really?! Sure, I’d love to!” I cheered. Oikawa just laughed at my sudden burst of energy. “Well, someone’s enthusiastic” He chuckled as he got into position. I threw the ball into the air as I began to run forward. Oikawa easily caught the ball and launched it back into the air, towards me. The ball fit perfectly into the palm of my hand as I swung my arm at full force. The ball zoomed towards the other side of the court and smashed onto the floor with a satisfying ‘BAM!’ I straightened myself up after landing, and began cheering as I bounced up and down. “So cool! Didya see?! It went ‘Whoosh!’ and ‘Boom!’ It was awesome! Right?! Right?!” Oikawa just grinned at my excitement and responded with “Nice spike! You wanna try again?”

We continued practising for another half hour, until the gym door slammed open. We both turned our heads in surprise. And we saw Kageyama… With a big scowl on his face… Oh boy, he’s pissed… I flinched as he clicked his tongue in irritation, whereas Oikawa just looked unimpressed. “Get to the cafeteria NOW. Everyone’s been worried.” Kageyama commanded with an infuriated voice, before turning around and stomping away. Oikawa placed his hands to his cheeks in mock surprise. “Oh dear! Is Tobio-Chan angry with me for tossing to his precious number 10?” He smirked at his own little performance. “C’mon, we’d better get a move on, before he starts sulking more” He added, as began walking away, gesturing with his hand for me to follow. I gave a nervous sigh to myself before following Oikawa with a slight jog.

“Next time, tell us where the hell you’re going!!” Iwaizumi yelled as his slammed his fist onto the top of Oikawa’s head. “Owwwwwwww…” Oikawa quietly mumbled as he clutched his now aching head. I just sank down into my seat and looked to the corner of the room, as I felt Kageyama’s glare burn into my soul. I didn’t even pay attention to the meeting, allowing myself to just zone out until a large ‘Smash!’ forced me back into reality. I swerved my head into the direction of the sound. It turns out it was Yachi. She was bringing in some more food from the kitchen, but tripped over and crashed into the large potted plant, knocking it over and causing it to shatter into large shards. “Hitoka-Chan, are you all right? You didn’t fall on any of the broken pieces, did you?” Kiyoko questioned as she rushed over and helped Yachi to her feet. “N-No, I’m fine…” Yachi shakily replied. Her eyes suddenly widened as if she had realised something. “I’m so sorry!” She squeaked “I was bringing you all some more food, but now I’ve wasted all of it! I’m sorry!” She began apologising profusely as everyone else tried to explain that it was fine. And then, we were instantly silenced by an interrupting voice. “Geez! Why are you all still alive?! This is boring as hell!” It was Monokuma, casually sat at the table as if he had been there the entire time. Nobody knew how to respond. We all just… Froze. “My, my, how clumsy you are, blondie! Don’t worry, I’ll clean it up for you this time, but you better clean up after yourself next time!” Monokuma mocked Yachi as he shook his head. “W-What is it this time…?” Asahi anxiously inquired. “I just don’t understand why you guys haven’t done anything yet… I created the perfect setting, established the perfect amount of suspense and mystery… What am I missing?” Monokuma mumbled to himself as he tilted his head from side to side in thought. Then he suddenly sat upright and slammed his paw into his other paw, as if he had just had an epiphany. “Oh! Of course! I haven’t given you guys any motivation!” He exclaimed. I furrowed my eyebrows at his declaration. “Motivation?” I uneasily repeated. I didn’t know what he meant by that, but I knew it wasn’t good. “That settles it!” He announced as he jumped off of the chair he was sat on. “All of you, meet me in the multi media room in ten minutes! Don’t be late! Or else…” He dropped that bomb on us, and then just disappeared, without another word. We didn’t say anything, we just stood there in silence, as a heavy atmosphere of dread weighed down on us.

10 minutes later, we were all stood at the door to the multi media room, a sense of unease consuming all of us. The door suddenly swung open and revealed the monochrome plushie. “Thank you all for coming, dear students! Please take a seat at the desk with your name on it, and watch the DVD’s that I’ve specially prepared for you!” Those words, mixed with his sadistic grin, made me feel an unshakeable dread. We all silently filed into the room, one by one. I reluctantly took a seat at the desk labelled ‘Hinata’ I stared at the disc that had ‘Shoyo Hinata’s Motive Video’ scruffily scribbled onto it. I swallowed nervously as I inserted the disc into the DVD player and slipped the pair of headphones onto my head. A countdown illuminated the computer screen as the video began to load. After it reached one, it was replaced by another image… It was my mom and my little sister, in our living room. Natsu was sat on Mom’s lap, laughing and playing with her dolls, while Mom was gently putting Natsu’s hair into two little pigtails. The sweet scene eased my anxiety as a fond smile crept its way onto my face. But, then the screen was engulfed by static, and replaced the original picture, with another. An image that made me feel sick. It was still my living room, but it was torn to shreds, and there was no sign of Mom or Natsu… But, there was bloodstains splattered across the walls… A question appeared on the screen, overlapping the nightmarish scene, in white writing: “What happened to this adorable family?” then the screen went black, and another sentence appeared in blood red writing: “Find out after you kill someone”

Fear consumed me. I started hyperventilating. I felt nauseous and light headed. That was obviously a lie. It’s a lie, right?! It’s gotta be a lie! I snapped my head upward, to see everyone else with faces of fear and disbelief. Why do I care?! I’m wasting time! I scrambled to my feet and bolted out of the room. “Hinata?!” A chorus of voices rang out after me as I sped down the hallway. I heard footsteps behind me, a hand forcibly grabbed onto my arm and pulled me back. “LET GO OF ME!” I screamed at the top of my voice. “Would you calm down, dumbass?!” Kageyama yelled back at me. “HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO CALM DOWN?!” I shrieked back. He pulled me back and tried to restrain me as everyone else caught up to us. “LET ME GO! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! I NEED TO SAVE NATSU!” I howled. Tears had begun spilling from my eyes, without me even realising it. Tanaka and Nishinoya had helped Kageyama restrain me, and now the three of them had me pinned down on the floor. I struggled to escape their grip and failed. I just lied there, kicking and punching the floor, while screaming out my frustration, and crying out burning tears while everyone just stared at my pathetic state. 

When I woke up, I was back in my dorm room. I held my hand to my forehead as I sat up. I noticed the outline of a person from the corner of my eye. Turning my head slightly, to discover it was Yachi. The sound of me sitting up must have woken her up, as she lifted her head and rubbed her eyes. She sat up straight when she noticed me staring at her. “Oh! Thank goodness, you’re awake!” She sighed in relief. “W-What happened?” I muttered as I drifted my gaze downward, ashamed of my breakdown. “You tired yourself from screaming and crying, so you ended up falling asleep. Iwaizumi-San carried you back here, and Shimizu-Senpai, Sugawara-Senpai, and I all took turns watching over you. You’ve been asleep since yesterday.” Yachi explained in a slow voice, just in case my brain was still half asleep. “I see… I’m sorry… Wait- I’ve been asleep since yesterday?! A day has passed?!” I responded, as my brain processed everything she had told me. Yachi rose her hands in a gesture that told me to calm down. “Yes… Look, let’s just go to the cafeteria, everyone’s really worried about you” She replied in an unusually calm voice for her. As she finished her sentence, my stomach growled loudly. “Yeah… Let’s go…” I bashfully responded, as she stood up. She giggled slightly and opened the door to hallway. “Come on!”

Everyone was staring at me as I entered the cafeteria. None of looked like they knew what to say to me. I stared down at my feet in shame and embarrassment. “I’m sorry about yesterday…” I awkwardly mumbled. “It’s okay.” A single voice replied to my apology. I lifted my head to see Suga giving me a comforting smile. “It was the video, wasn’t it? It’s okay, we don’t blame you, we blame Monokuma” I gave a nervous sigh as Suga soothed my nerves. After lifting my head, I noticed that some people weren’t here. “Um… Where are Ushijima, Shirabu, and Asahi?” I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together in confusion. “Ushiwaka and Shirabu are in the gym, and we don’t know where your weak-willed ace is” Oikawa replied nonchalantly. “Probably still asleep, knowing Asahi-San!” Nishinoya declared bluntly. I started walking towards the table, but promptly tripped over something. It was a trash bag, a full trash bag. “What’s this doing here?” I questioned. “Oh, we were putting all of our trash in there as we ate. Since, there’s so many of us, we figured it’s kinda pointless to use the small bins, so we used the trash bag and decided to take it to the trash room when it’s full” Ennoshita replied, very matter-of-factly. “Yeah, and you’re gonna be the one who takes it there” Kageyama butted in. “Eh?! Why me?!” I retorted as I turned to face him. I instantly noticed a large bruise on his left cheekbone. Whoops… I guess I must have punched him while I was struggling yesterday… “Consider it punishment for yesterday” He grunted, with an irritated scowl on his face. “Right…” I muttered, as I hoisted the bag into the air and started carrying it off to the trash room.

Geez, this bag is a lot heavier than I thought it would be… I ended up basically dragging it to trash room. When I finally reached my destination, I dropped the bag to open the door. Although, nothing could prepare me for the sight that awaited me behind the door… There was a body. A body with a pained facial expression. A body with a large chest wound and blood pouring from it, staining the floor beneath it. I was staring at the large dead body… Of Asahi Azumane, our ace. Before I even realised it, I was screaming. Tearing my vocal chords apart. The last thing I remembered was collapsing onto the floor, before everything went black.


	3. Chapter 1 - Love Leads to Fear, Fear Leads to Death, Death Leads to Despair - Deadly Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation of the first murder begins, but will they be able to find enough evidence to help point them in the direction of the killer?

When I came to, my vision was blurry. It took a few seconds for everything came into focus. The first thing I saw was Matsukawa and Hanamaki staring down at me. When they saw me staring back, they lifted and turned their heads. “He’s awake” They called out in unison. Right… I fell unconscious, didn’t I…? My mind was still a bit fuzzy. I slowly sat up as I tried to piece together everything that happened before I collapsed. Suddenly everything came flooding back, and the terrifying image of Asahi’s body leapt into my mind. I sprung to my feet and tried to sprint out the door. I was stopped by Ushijima grabbing my arm. “W-What are you doing?! I need to check on Asahi!” I babbled, all of the confusion in my mind had affected my speech. “Monokuma told us to gather here” He stated simply. It was at this point that I noticed we were in the gymnasium. “Besides, there’s no point checking on Asahi. We already did that. He is dead.” Tsukishima added bluntly. His voice had its usual spite, but his face looked troubled. I scanned my gaze across everyone else, they all looked tense. But no one looked as bad as Nishinoya. He was sat on one of the benches, glaring down at the floor, grinding his teeth, and clenching his fists in his lap. So… This is real? He’s really… Dead? I couldn’t accept it, it was just too outrageous!

My thoughts were once again interrupted by a certain plump plushie. “Yahoo! One of you little bastards actually did what I wanted you to do! Congrats, Kid! You just became my favourite!” He announced in his loud, irritating voice. None of us responded. We just stood there, glaring at him. If looks could kill, that shitty teddy bear would be ripped to shreds right now. “Aaaaanyway! Now that someone’s actually been murdered, we can move on to my favourite part: The Class Trial!!” He exclaimed excitedly. “Class… Trial…? Shirabu repeated, confusion laced in his voice. “Correct! All of you will conduct investigations and collect evidence, regarding Goatee’s murder, and then you’ll take part in the class trial to debate whodunit! If you pick the right person as the culprit, I’ll punish them, but if you pick the wrong person… I’ll punish everyone besides the culprit!” Monokuma explained with his unsettling sadistic smile. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know, but I asked anyway “Um… What exactly is the punishment?” Monokuma turned his intimidating gaze towards me. “Execution, of course”

No one knew how to respond. We were just frozen in place. Terrified expressions on our faces. The only person who moved was Yachi, she had collapsed to floor after her legs gave out. “H-Hold on a minute! I wanna find whoever killed Asahi-San! But I don’t wanna kill them!” Nishinoya objected loudly. “Too bad, tiny! That’s what you gotta do! And if you refuse… You’ll punished, too” Monokuma lowered his voice as he delivered that threat! Nishinoya gulped as a bead of sweat slid down the side of his face. “Good! Looks like you finally understand! Now, I’d like to direct your attention to your e-handbooks! They all have a new feature called the Monokuma Files! It holds all of the basic details about the victim’s body! I’ll call you guys when your time is up, happy investigating!” Monokuma gave us that last piece of information before jumping off the podium and disappearing once again. A heavy atmosphere weighed down on us as we realised how hopeless our situation was. One of us was dead, and no matter what, someone else was gonna die… Without really having any other options, I pulled out my e-handbook and checked out the Monokuma File.

[Monokuma File No.1  
Victim –Asahi Azumane, Third Year, Karasuno High School  
Location – Body discovered in Trash Room, First Floor  
The victim received multiple bruises on their arms and a single stab wound to the chest. This resulted in the victim bleeding to death. The estimated time of death is 4:00AM]

Okay…? So, we have figure out all of the other details, and find his killer? I tried to hold back my anxiety, but I couldn’t stop my hand from shaking. “Well… I guess we should start… Investigating… It would probably be best if we investigated by ourselves or in small groups, that way we might be able to discover more evidence…” Daichi spoke up in a leader like manner, but he sounded unsure. Everyone began walking towards to door to start their searches, except Nishinoya. He just stood there, staring at the floor. There was no emotion on his face at all. I started to walk over to him, but Tanaka stopped me by placing a firm hand on my shoulder. He gave a sombre shake of his head. “It’s probably better if you leave him alone, for now…” He said, his voice low and understanding. My eyebrows curved upward and inward as my face morphed into a worried frown. “Okay…” I agreed half-heartedly. I started to slowly drag me feet over to door as I began to wonder how to start my investigation. “As much as I don’t want to see it… I’ll probably have to examine Asahi-San’s body…” I muttered to myself as I walked down the corridor. I let out a nervous sigh as I made my back to the Trash Room. 

I stopped in front of the door when I arrived at the room containing the corpse. I took a few deep breaths to psyche myself up, and prayed that I wouldn’t faint again, as I carefully swung the door open. It seemed I wasn’t the only person who had the idea of examining the body, as there was already a group of people in the room. Daichi and Suga were crouched over Asahi’s body, Yachi seemed to be examining the incinerator, and Tsutomu was looking around the cleaning supply area. I decided to join Daichi and Suga first. I walked over to them and crouched down, just at the edge of the now dry bloodstains. “Have you looked at anything yet?” I asked shakily. “No… We’re trying to psyche ourselves up…” Suga gloomily admitted. “It’s just… Hard to… You know…” Daichi added, unable to think of the words to use. Suga took a deep breathe, pushed his hands together into a small prayer, and then began his examination. He began at the obvious starting point: the weapon sticking out of his chest. “Weird… It doesn’t look like a knife…” I muttered absent-mindedly. Daichi leaned in to get a closer look. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s way too big to be knife, and the entire thing is jagged… There’s not a handle either…” He stated his observations as he spotted them. “Wait… There’s some weird bloodstains on this thing…” Suga pondered as he gazed at the weapon with extreme concentration. Daichi and I turned to look at Suga, waiting for him to explain what he meant. “Look: There’s bloodstains down here, which obviously got there when the killer stabbed Asahi, then it’s completely clean in the middle, then near the top, there’s some smaller bloodstains on the edges…” Suga explained slowly, almost as if he was trying to process his thoughts. Now that he had pointed that out, I noticed the bloodstains he was talking about. There was a small area near the top of the weapon that was thinner than the rest of it. Just the right width to fit a hand around. Was the killer somehow injured? “Wait, didn’t the Monokuma File say that Asahi had some injuries on his arms, too?” Daichi spoke up. That’s right, it did say that. I carefully leaned over and started to roll up Asahi’s right sleeve, and, after seeing what I was doing, Suga began rolling up his left sleeve. Large blue and purple bruises created a painful pattern up and down his arms. I couldn’t help but wince when I saw them. Looking at them a bit closer, I noticed that they looked like handprints and fingerprints. Daichi and Suga both seemed to have noticed that as well. “Do you think that maybe Asahi struggled against his killer?” Suga anxiously asked for our opinions. “Well, even though he was a wimp, he probably did…” Daichi sighed in response. “Okay, I’m gonna see if Yachi needs any help. Good luck guys” I announced as I slowly stood up. Daichi and Suga both gave me a small nod of their heads and a quick “Good Luck” as I paced gently over to Yachi.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Weird Bloodstains – Some unusual bloodstains near the top of the murder weapon. Was the murderer injured?  
Bruises on Victim’s Arms – Mostly shaped like handprints and fingerprints. A possible struggle between the victim and the killer?]

As I approached, I noticed that Yachi was investigating the trash bags sat in front of the incinerator. “Uh… Yachi-San???” I spoke up, to make her aware of my presence. “Oh, Hinata-Kun, hello.” She greeted me as she turned to face me. “So… uh… What are you doing…?” I asked, slightly confused. Yachi tilted her head in confusion, but then realised what I was talking about. “Oh! N-No, I’m not doing anything weird! I just noticed that one of the bags was open, and wondered if it had anything to do with the murder…” She explained awkwardly. “Oh! That makes sense! So, have you found anything?” I inquired, curious about her findings. Yachi nodded once as she pulled the bag open a bit more, to show me the contents. “This bagels full of all the broken pieces of the plant pot that I accidentally fell onto and smashed.” I stared at the shards intensely. They looked familiar to me… The jagged edges… The slight jade coloured tint… That’s when it clicked. “AH!” I exclaimed loudly, causing Yachi, Daichi and Suga to jump. “W-What’s wrong, Hinata-Kun? Yachi asked, while clutching her chest. I quickly grabbed a shard and scrambled back over to Daichi and Suga. They looked confused as I shoved the shard near the weapon. “I knew it! They’re the same!” I exclaimed excitedly as my theory was proved correct. “So… The killer used a piece of the plant pot?” Daichi pondered quietly to himself. “Ah! Hinata! Your hand’s bleeding!” Suga quickly informed me, clearly worried about me. I glanced at my hand quickly, only to notice that there was blood dripping from the part of my hand that made contact with the edge of the shard. “Oh! Er… What should I do about it?” I asked, genuinely confused. “Hinata-Kun! I have a handkerchief that you can use to patch it up!” Yachi called me over. “Thanks, Yachi-San!” I thanked her as I jogged back over to her. I gently crouched down so she could reach my hand. She gently dabbed the cut to clean it up before wrapping the handkerchief around my hand and tying a secure knot. “That should hopefully keep it in place.” She stated as she leaned back. Something else seemed to catch her attention. “What is it?” I asked her. She lifted her arm and pointed toward the incinerator. “There’s something in there” She said bluntly. I leaned over to see what she was talking about. She was right. There was something in there, I just couldn’t quite see what it was. “Why’s it still in there? And is it safe for us to have a look?” I wondered out loud. “Good questions, half-pint!” A voice cheered for out of nowhere. You guessed right, it was Monokuma. Yachi and I both squealed in surprise and clung to each other. “Geez, aren’t we jumpy?” Monokuma snickered as he shook his head. “W-What did you want?” I shakily questioned him as I let go of Yachi. Monokuma stopped shaking his head and looked at me dead in the eye. “To answer your questions, ya stupid little squirt!” I didn’t say anything. I didn’t really appreciate his insult, but I had a feeling that he had some important information. “Now then, since you’re listening so intently, I’ll tell you: this incinerator only works if you put a certain amount of stuff in there. There needs to be at least four trash bags before the incinerator will activate. Think of it as a safety precaution.” He explained while making weird gestures with his arms. I turned my gaze over to the incinerator, and then back to Monokuma. “So, it’ll be safe for us to check out what’s in the incinerator?” I asked seriously. Monokuma nodded. “Yup! So long as no one decides to put more trash in there!” I sensed a sadistic cheer in his comment, but chose to ignore his messed up sense of humour. “Okay then, thank you for that” I don’t know I thanked him… But I did, for some reason. Monokuma sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “Aww shucks! No problem! And here I thought that teenagers didn’t have any manners anymore! Welp, toodaloo!!” He quickly stood up and plodded away. I turned to look at Yachi. “Let’s have a look at what’s in there” I suggested. She just nodded in response.  
I carefully reached into the incinerator, grabbed onto what was in there, and pulled it out. It felt soft, but also kinda… wet? After I got it out, I discovered that it was a shirt. And the wet thing… Was a bloodstain. I yelped as I let go of the shirt and dropped it on the floor. Yachi leaned down and took a closer look at it. She pointed at a certain section with a slender finger. “Look, the sleeve’s ripped a little bit…” I peered at the sleeve, and noticed that she was right. It looked like someone had grabbed it, causing it to rip. That’s when it dawned on me. “Do you think that this is the murderer’s shirt? And that Asahi ripped it when he fought against them?” I asked her quietly. Yachi placed her hand to her chin, as she considered the possibility. “That would make sense… And it would explain why the murderer tried to dispose of the shirt… But, take a look at this” She trailed off a bit as she directed my gaze towards the bloodstain. “It’s a bit of a weird, pale colour… Especially since it’s still wet… If the blood is recent, it should still be bright red…” She explained. I noticed that she was right, it was a weird peachy colour… I frowned at the stain as I tried to figure out why it looked like that. “It doesn’t look like there’s anything else here… I’m gonna see if Tsutomu needs any help, later Yachi-San, good luck” I spoke up as I stood and began walking away. “Okay, I’ll continue searching here, just in case there’s something we missed. Good luck, Hinata-Kun.” She replied sweetly.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Murder Weapon – The murder weapon was a shard of the broken plant pot. It was retrieved from the trash bag near the incinerator.  
Monokuma’s Testimony – The incinerator will not activate until there is a minimum of four trash bags inside it. The killer was not aware of this fact.  
Ripped Sleeve – The shirt discovered in the incinerator had a ripped shirt. Did the victim struggle with their killer?  
Discoloured Bloodstain – There is a strange coloured bloodstain on the shirt. It is still wet.]

“Hey Tsutomu, you find anything?” I inquired as I walked towards him. He glanced over his shoulder. “Hey Hinata, nah, not much, to be honest… But, there is one thing that I found kinda weird.” He reported as I halted at his side. “Oh yeah? What’s that?” I asked, curious about what he discovered. He furrowed his brows together, almost as if he was confused, and then told me. “Everything seems to be normal here, apart from the fact that three bottles of bleach are completely empty…” He trailed off as he began to ponder about it yet again. “Why bleach…?” I wondered out loud. I scanned my eyes across the shelves surrounding, hoping that I could find anything else that would help make the absence of bleach make sense. As my gaze reached the bottom, I noticed something. I bet down to analyse it. It was a box of paper towels, but it was half empty. Tsutomu leaned over my shoulder to see what I was looking at, and his confused frown only grew bigger. “Uhhh… So, bleach and paper towels…? I… I don’t get it…” He muttered in a defeated tone. “Maybe, once we find some more evidence, it’ll make more sense!” I quickly suggested, in an attempt to cheer him up. He hummed half-heartedly as he looked away to the side. His eyes widened a bit as he hummed again, this time in surprise and thought. I just looked at him expectedly, waiting for him to explain. He took a step closer to what he was looking at, the bin. He peered inside to examine the contents. “Oh! I was right! The paper towels are in here!” He exclaimed, a sense of pride present in his voice. I quickly stepped forward to have a look myself. He was right, but they looked kinda strange… They were discoloured and slightly ripped. I reached in and pulled a handful of the paper towels to analyse them a little closer. They had a slight reddish tint to them, and a strange, strong smell was coming from them. I lifted them up to my nose and took a quick sniff. I coughed at the strong scent. “It’s bleach” I stated to Tsutomu. He tilted his head in confusion. “So… Did the killer try to clean something?” He asked slowly. “I guess that could be possible…” I replied. Well, I think I’ve found everything from here… I guess it’s time to investigate somewhere else… “Okay, I’m gonna go see I there’s anything important in Asahi’s dorm room. Good luck here, Tsutomu.” I announced as I waved at Tsutomu and walked away. “Later Hinata, Good luck!” I hard Tsutomu call after as I left the trash room.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Empty Bleach Bottles – Three bleach bottles are completely empty. What did the killer use them for?  
Used Paper Towels – A box of paper towels was missing half of its contents, which was later discovered in the bin. The used towels are slightly discoloured, wet and ripped. They also have a strong scent of bleach.]

I took a deep breath as I arrived at the door to Asahi’s room. His door was clearly unlocked and there was obviously already people inside. I placed my hand on the door and gently pushed it open. I instantly made eye contact with Ennoshita. He looked quite surprised at first but them composed himself and gave me a calming smile. He gestured with a quick jerk of his head for me to come over to him. I walked over to him, only to discover he wasn’t the only one in the room. Yahaba and Kyoutani were investigating Asahi’s gift, which was a machete. There was also Tanaka, who was examining the desk. “Is there anyone else in here?” I asked Ennoshita. “There’s just Shairabu-San, who’s just taking a look in the bathroom… Said something about a video game he saw someone play once… Muttered something like 11037 or something…” He replied, gradually becoming more confused as his statement came to an end. “Uh… Okay then? Have you found anything useful?” I asked. Ennoshita pulled something out of his pocket and handed it over to me. “We found this in the bin, we think the killer wrote it, so Tsukishima and Yamaguchi are going around analysing everyone’s handwriting, see if we can get a match… Although, it’s possible that the killer altered their writing so it couldn’t be traced back to them.” I took the scrunched up paper from his hand and read what was on it. “Hey, I need to talk to you about those videos Monokuma showed us. I noticed something weird about mine and you’re the only person I can trust. Meet me in the trash room at 3:55AM. Make sure that no one sees you, I’d prefer it this stayed private.” So, the killer used this to lure Asahi out to them… How horrible… I couldn’t help but frown after reading it. I was pulled out of my thoughts by Ennoshita’s voice. “Hey Tanaka, have found anything yet?” Tanaka lifted his head and shook it. “Nope, there’s nothing here at all” He sighed out with defeated tone. “Oh well, what you, Yahaba-San?” Ennoshita questioned in a commanding voice. Yahaba just let out of deep breath and shrugged. “All we discovered is that this thing’s definitely never been used” Kyoutani scoffed in response. “And what about you, Shirabu-San? Find anything in there?” Ennoshita called out. Shirabu poke his head round the door frame and shook it. Ennoshita placed his hand to his chin as he began to think. “So, the only thing of importance that we found is the message…” I began to walk away, towards the door. “I’ll check somewhere else, thanks for sharing your information, guys” I called out to them. They all just simply nodded in response.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Killer’s Note – Asahi had received a note from the killer, requesting him to meet them in the trash Room to discuss the Motive Videos]

I instantly halted to a stop as I stepped out the door, coming face to face with Iwaizumi. I couldn’t help but let out a slight ‘Geh!’ in surprise. “Sorry, did I startle you? I didn’t expect to bump into you” Iwaizumi apologised politely as he bowed slightly. “No, no, I was just a little surprised, ya know?” I replied, slightly flustered. “Are you okay? You look pretty damn pale…” He asked, concern clear in his voice. “Huh? A-Am I?” I responded, kinda surprised that he was worried about me. “Yeah… Are you sure you’re okay?” He said as he leaned forward and pressed his hand onto my forehead. “You’ve got a bit of a fever, too” He added. I didn’t know how to react. “U-Uh I-I-I-I Um, Er, Well I- That is- U-Um” I ended up spouting complete gibberish. Iwaizumi pulled his hand away and stared at me with a slightly scared face. “U-Uh, are you really okay…?” He hesitantly asked me. “Y-Yeah, you just caught me off guard, that’s all” I sheepishly replied. “A-Anyway, do you know anything about this murder?” I continued, trying to regain my composure. “Uh, yeah, about that… I think I might have seen the killer delivering that note…” Iwaizumi admitted, his voice low and unsure. “W-WHAT?!” I shrieked, shocked by this information. “Yeah… But, I didn’t see their face… They were facing away from me and, during the night time hours, the lights are dimmed, so it as pretty dark. I could only really see their silhouette. I saw them crouch down, slip something underneath Asahi’s door, and then walked off towards the entrance hall. I didn’t follow them because I was too preoccupied with my own thoughts… If only I had followed them… I could have prevented this whole thing…” He explained slowly and clearly. He obviously felt guilty… “Okay… Wait, do you have any idea what time you saw them?” I asked, hoping to get some more information. “It was around midnight” He stated simply. I was about to reply to him, when we both noticed a pair of people walking directly towards us. We turned to see who it was. It was Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Tsukishima irritably shoved a notepad towards me. “We need your handwriting.” He stated in a bored, bland tone. I decided to ignore his rudeness, seeing as this is pretty normal for him… I just took the notepad from him, wrote my name, and gave it back to him. He looked at my signature, then scowled and let out a disgusted scoff, while Yamaguchi let out a disappointed sigh. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What’s up with you two?” Yamaguchi began fiddling with his hands nervously. “It’s just no one’s handwriting matches with the note, meaning that the killer changed their handwriting, making it harder for us… I’m just scared that we won’t be able to find them…” He admitted, frowning at the floor. Tsukishima remained silent, he just shot a worried glance at Yamaguchi. Iwaizumi was about to comfort Yamaguchi, when he was interrupted by the nearby monitor. “Investigation Time’s up, ya little bastards! Get your little asses over to the Entrance Hall, so we can get this show on the road!” The annoying voice of Monokuma rang out before the monitor shut off. I gulped as I stared at the others with worried eyes. We decided it was just best to do as the plush bear said and travelled towards the Entrance Hall.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Iwaizumi’s Testimony –Iwaizumi saw the killer slip their note under Asahi’s door at around Midnight. He was unable to see who it was due to a lack of light and the fact that they were facing away from him.  
Handwriting – No one’s handwriting matches the handwriting of the killer’s note, meaning that the killer changed their handwriting]

As we arrived, we noticed that some people were already there and they were all gathered around a large bright red door. Tsukishima furrowed his brow as we got closer. “I swear that door wasn’t there before…” He muttered. He’s right… It wasn’t there when I investigated the Entrance Hall before. As we arrived, everyone else did as well. The arrival of the entire group seemed to trigger something as the door swung open, almost as if Monokuma was saying “Get in right now!” We all followed the obvious order without a single word. After we all piled in, the door slammed shut behind us. The room suddenly shuddered and then a loud humming could be heard from around us. Everyone was frantically checking their surroundings, when Ushijima spoke up. “It seems that this room is actually an elevator” We all froze and stared at him, before relaxing and doing our own things to help us to calm down. The question is… Where is this elevator taking us? As I was thinking, I glanced towards Nishinoya. He was leaning against the wall and staring at the floor. I could clearly see all of his conflicting emotions in his eyes. Just as I was about to say something to him, the room shuddered again, causing everyone to turn their attention to the door. As the door swung open, we heard Monokuma announce in a triumphant voice:  
“Ladies and Gentlemen, Let the first class trial of our school life of mutual killing… Commence!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry if there's any random typos, Word kept mucking around and autocorrecting words that I had spelt correctly or taking random letters out of the words... I dunno why...?  
> Anyway, feel free to guess who you think the killer is!!


	4. Chapter 1 - Love Leads to Fear, Fear Leads to Death, Death Leads to Despair - Class Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The class trial to find Asahi's killer begins. This begins the fight to find the truth, and to protect their lives. Either way, someone is going to die... But, who's it gonna be? The entire group of innocents, or the one who took the life of their classmate?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the first trial, first execution and the end of Chapter 1! I'm sorry for the intense amount of angst in this chapter... Also, I'm probably not gonna be able to update this as often, since I have to go back to school on Wednesday... Which is always fun... But, I'll try to update as often as I can! Please let me know what you thought of this, and if you were able to guess the killer correctly, congratulations! You get lots of cookies :3

As we all filed into the new room, we noticed that there was a total of 25 courtroom podiums arranged into a circle and a judge’s seat overlooking all of them. Monokuma was already sat in the judge’s seat, displaying his power over the situation and us. “Why the hell are there 25 seats when there were only a total of 24 of us when we entered the school?” Kyoutani interrogated Monokuma with his gruff, slightly irritated voice. “No reason whatsoever, it just means that a total of 25 people can take part in a class trial. Besides, 25 is a nice number! It’s a quarter of 100, ya know?” Monokuma rambled in response. “Nobody asked for a maths lesson” Snapped Tsukishima, tilting his head back in disgust. “A-Anyway, what’s with that?” Yui butted in, raising her arm to point at the subject of her question. We all turned to look at what she was talking about. There was a picture stood at one of the podiums, within a fancy frame. The picture was of Asahi, and there was a large red cross scruffily painted across it. Monokuma tilted his head as he spoke. “Ohhh, that? Well, it would pretty unfair if he was left out just because he’s dead” He stated in a way that made it seem that he thought it was obvious. “Anyway, stand behind your respective podiums and let’s get this show on the road!!”

I found the podium marked ‘Hinata’ and checked to see who was next to me, to the left of me was Hanamaki, and to the right of me was Nishinoya. He seemed to be doing a little better, he that determined look in his that I had seen many times during our matches. Daichi cleared his throat to get our attention. “Well then, I suppose we should get started… Why don’t we start with murder weapon?” Satori placed his hands behind his head. “Well, since the Monokuma File said that the cause of death was a stab wound, the weapon was obviously a knife, right?” He stated nonchalantly. Suga quickly glanced at me before refuting Satori’s statement. “Actually, it wasn’t a knife. It turns out that it was actually a shard of the pot that Yachi accidentally broke. The trash bag had been left in the Trash Room, so the killer had probably noticed that and chose to use the shard instead of a knife to make it harder for us to discover them.” Everyone stared at Suga after his examination report. “What?!” Exclaimed Satori, clearly shocked by this revelation. “So, what you’re saying is, the killer snuck up on Asahi and then stabbed him?” Oikawa asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, that’s not possible” I decided to speak. Oikawa turned to face me. “Hmm? And why’s that, Chibi-Chan?” He looked like he was judging me, clearly doubting that I could prove his theory wrong. “Because of Asahi’s injuries. He had multiple bruises on his arms, shaped like finger and handprints, clearly showing that he had struggled against his killer.” I sounded monotone as I explained. “Y-Yeah, plus we found more proof that Asahi struggled in the incinerator.” Yachi spoke up. “Exactly, we found the killer’s shirt in the back of the incinerator-” I was cut off by Tanaka. “W-Wait, wait, wait! You climbed into the incinerator?! Are you crazy?!” Everyone else seemed like they were thinking the same thing. “No, no! It was completely safe! Monokuma explained to us that the incinerator won’t activate until a minimum of four trash bags are inside it. That’s why the shirt was still in there! The killer didn’t know!” Yachi quickly butted in, to calm everyone’s thoughts. “Anyway, the killer’s shirt had huge rip on its sleeve and a large discoloured bloodstain on the abdomen, which was probably the victim’s blood.” I continued. “How do you know that it wasn’t the killer’s blood?” Asked Kageyama. “Wow, that’s a pretty good question, considering it’s from you” Tsukishima commented smarmily. “I didn’t ask you!” Kageyama snapped back. “Just shut up, and let Hinata talk…” Sighed Ennoshita. “Thanks, Ennoshita-San. Well, it’s obvious that it wasn’t the killer’s blood, because if they had an injury on their abdomen, they wouldn’t be able to hide it easily. They would probably still be pain, since there’s nowhere to heal our injuries. Their body language and facial expressions would be different. We’d notice their strange behaviour” I explained after everyone quietened down. They all looked like they were thinking about that possibility, when Yamaguchi spoke up. “Wait, you said that it was discoloured? What does that mean?” I couldn’t help but smirk as I spoke. “I think Tsutomu knows the answer to that” Tsutomu flinched as I said his name. “I- I do?!” I gave him a knowing look, which then caused him to flinch again, as the realisation hit him. “Oh! Of course! The missing bleach and used paper tissues!” He exclaimed. Everyone stared at him. “Uh… Yeah, um, I think we’re gonna need a little more detail…” Hanamaki sighed with an unimpressed expression on his face. “The killer tried to clean the blood off, but then gave up and tried to burn it instead!” Tsutomu explained excitedly. A collective “ohhhh” rang around the circle as Tsutomu made his ramblings clear.

“Okay, so we’ve made the murder weapon, the struggle between the victim and the killer, and the fact that the killer tried to dispose of some evidence, pretty damn clear. How about we answer this question: Why was the victim in the Trash Room?” Eita suggested, sounding slightly annoyed. “I have the reason Asahi went to the Trash Room right here” Ennoshita declared as he pulled the note out of his pocket and presented it to everyone. “Wait, thank to this, we have an exact time. We can check to see who has an alibi.” Kiyoko brought up an important fact. “That’s true… Well, right off the bat, we can exclude Hinata from the list of suspects, ‘cause he was unconscious at the time.” Iwaizumi proclaimed. I internally gave a sigh of relief, thank god, I’m not suspected of being a murderer. “Kiyoko and I both have alibis, because we were switching our shifts for watching over Hinata.” Suga declared. “And what about Yachi? Does she have an alibi too? Or not?” Yui asked innocently. “Yachi does have an alibi. She was in Hinata’s bathroom, running towels under cold water so we could bring Hinata’s fever down” Kiyoko stated, slightly agitated at the fact that Yachi was put under suspicion. “Tsukki and I were in my room. I was scared and needed to talk to someone about those videos, so he spent the night with me” Yamaguchi admitted. Tsukishima just looked away and tutted in response. “Okay, so what about everyone else?” Ushijima inquired. Silence filled the room. “This is pointless… The rest of us were by ourselves, in our own rooms, so we have no one who can attest to our alibis…” Yahaba grunted in frustration. A heavy atmosphere weighed down on us as we realised that Yahaba was right… We still hadn’t gotten any closer to the killer’s identity…

We stood there, trying to think of how to continue the trial. I stood there, with my hand pressed to my chin, reviewing all of the evidence that I had collected. I gasped as a sudden idea popped into my head. “Iwaizumi-San! You said you saw the killer’s silhouette as they slipped their note under Asahi’s door and walked off! Did you notice their height? Or anything that would help us determine who it was? Anything!” I exclaimed quickly and excitedly. Iwaizumi’s eyes widened in surprise as he realised what I was trying to do. He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “They were pretty tall… Probably around 6ft… Or at least 6ft, anyway…” He answered slowly. “Nice one, Shoyo! Now we’ve actually narrowed down the number of suspects! We’re actually getting somewhere!” Nishinoya exclaimed, clearly glad that we were getting closer to the truth. “So, the list of possible suspects are: Oikawa, Tsukishima, and Ushijima” Daichi analysed. Oikawa gave out an indignant “Hah?!” Tsukishima just frowned, and Ushijima didn’t respond at all. “Tsukki didn’t kill him! I told you he has an alibi!!” Yamaguchi cried out. “Well, maybe we should include people who are just under 6ft? It was pretty dark, so it’s possible they were a bit shorter than 6ft?” Suga suggested. “That’s wise” Iwaizumi instantly agreed. “Okay, so if we include people with height of 5ft8 and above and excluding Yamaguchi because of his alibi, the new possible suspects are: Kageyama, Iwaizumi, Tanaka, and myself” Daichi analysed. Everyone stared at the new suspects, who all looked worried and on edge. “Yeah, that’s great and all, but how do we prove that any of them are actually the killer? There’s no proof whatsoever” Shiraba spoke up, in a spiteful voice. “He… Unfortunately has a point…” Matsukawa sighed in disappointment.

Silence filled the courtroom once again, broken only by Monokuma’s content humming. Everyone looked defeated. Had we really come this far to lose everything at this point? A chill ran up my spine as I remembered the punishment for not discovering the real culprit. Come on… Come on! There has to be something to point towards the killer! Something! Anything! I ran through all the evidence again in my head, trying to remember every last detail. That’s when it clicked. “The murder weapon!” I shouted in realisation. “… What about it?” Kyoutani deadpanned. That’s when Suga realised what I was talking. “Of course, that weird bloodstain!” He exclaimed. “Yeah… Details, please?” Tsukishima sighed, getting irritated at the situation. “The murder weapon had a thinner section near the top, thin enough to hold in one hand. And there was a bloodstain there.” Suga informed them. “That means that the killer has an injury on their hand! And since there’s no infirmary, they couldn’t take care of it!” I finished off for him. Everyone gasped in surprise, but for one person it was in fear. “Okay, all of the suspects show your hands when I called your name” Daichi instructed as he displayed his own hands. “Kageyama” He showed us his hands with no hesitation, no injury. “Tanaka” No injury. “Iwaizumi” No injury. “Ushijima” No injury. And then there was one person left. “Oikawa” Oikawa didn’t move. He just stood there, staring at the floor. “The hell are you doing, Crappykawa?! Show your damn hands!” Iwaizumi yelled at him. Oikawa just bit his lip. “Tooru!” Iwaizumi yelled at him again. With a defeated look on his face, he displayed his hands to us, revealing a deep gash on his right hand. “So… it was you…?” Nishinoya whimpered. Oikawa just meekly nodded. Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki just looked horrified. “Why… Why did you do it?” Iwaizumi whispered in disbelief. Oikawa remained silent. “WHY DID YOU DO IT?!” Iwaizumi roared, he obviously didn’t want to believe this. “I…” Oikawa’s voice wavered as tears threatened to fall from his eyes. “I… Needed to protect Takeru…” He whispered in a barely audible voice. “So, you killed someone?” Yahaba asked. “WHAT THE FUCK WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO?! JUST SIT BACK AND LET THIS PSYCHOPATH KILL MY NEPHEW?!” Oikawa screamed, tears streaming down his face as he pulled on his hair. I grimaced as I saw him breakdown. He was just like me, he just wanted to protect his family. “Why Asahi?” Nishinoya quietly asked. “He… Was just an easy target… He was such a wimp, I didn’t really expect him to put up any sort of fight…” Oikawa admitted, guilt laced in his voice. “I-I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Oikawa continuously repeated as he collapsed to the floor.

“Well, aren’t you guys the smart ones? Congrats kids, ya got it right! The killer of Asahi Azumane was none other than Tooru Oikawa!” Monokuma exclaimed in excitement. Nobody celebrated. We all just stood there, faces full of guilt, disbelief, and sadness. “Anyway, enough of this mushy stuff! Let’s just skip to execution, shall we?!” Monokuma piped up again, excitement ringing out from his voice. Oikawa’s eyes snapped open and his lifted his head to look at Monokuma. “W-What?” Was all he could utter. “Oh c’mon! You know exactly what I’m talking about! You did the deed, but got caught, so now you gotta die!” Monokuma proclaimed, conceit dripping from every word. Oikawa said nothing, he just began to hyperventilate as he sat there trembling. Everyone raised their voices to speak out their objections, but they fell on deaf ears. Monokuma just ignored them and continued talking. “Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for the Seijou captain, Tooru Oikawa! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiiiiiiiit’s Punishment Time~!”

[G A M E O V E R  
O I K A W A H A S B E E N F O U N D G U I L T Y  
T H E P U N I S H M E N T W I L L N O W C O M M E N C E]

A chain wrapped itself around Oikawa’s neck and violently yanked him away from us and to the punishment area. The chain dragged Oikawa up an artificial hill, and onto a throne that sat on top of it. Oikawa’s limbs were shackled to the throne, preventing any chance of escape. Monokuma appeared out of nowhere, at the bottom of the hill, with a flame lit torch. He slowly and carefully placed the torch next to the hill, setting it alight. The flames slowly roared to life and began to crawl up the hill, closing in on him, like a predator closing in on its prey. As it drew closer to him, the suffocating heat made Oikawa sweat, countless beads falling down his face. When suddenly, the throne jutted to the side and tumbled down the hill. It crashed to the ground on its back, and Oikawa winced as he slammed onto the ground, several burn marks on his body after his fall through the flames. His eyes fearfully opened as he realised that his head had landed on a different surface. It was a guillotine. His eyes widened even further as he stared as the gigantic blade suspended above him. Monokuma was stood the side of the guillotine, holding onto the single rope that prevented the gruesome and of Oikawa’s life. His eye glowed a crimson red as he gave a sadistic smile and spoke a single sinister sentence: “Long Live The King” His plush hand released the rope and the blade came plummeting down. It sliced through Oikawa’s neck, causing his head to fall and land on the floor with a sickening ‘thump’

Everyone stood there, completely terrified and disgusted by the events we were forced to observe. A dread-filled silence swept through the area, until a chorus of screams and wails ripped through that silence. Some of us were just cried, tears spilling from our eyes. Some of us screamed, tearing our vocal chords until they were ripped to shreds and bloody. And some of us just stood there, unable to process the horror we had just witnessed. Iwaizumi grabbed the wire fence that separated us from Oikawa. The trauma dulled his eyes, but at the same time, made them wild and insane. “T-This is a lie, right? This isn’t real…” He muttered, clinging onto the hope that his childhood friend was alive. But, that hope was non-existent. He was deluding himself. I glanced at the punishment area again, catching a glimpse of Oikawa’s body, blood pouring from the neck wound, and his head… Laying four feet away. My stomach convulsed violently, causing me to collapse to my hands and knees, and puke up the entire contents of my stomach. I was left gasping for air after I was finished, the stomach acid burning my throat. Tears filled my eyes as I whispered “This is hell… We’re in hell…” Monokuma appeared before us. “Woohoo! That was extreme! Isn’t this amazing?! Can’t you just feel the despair?!” He cheered wildly. We all just stared at him in horror. “Aww, C’mon kiddos! Cheer up! If you don’t wanna go through this again, you’re just gonna have to get used to the fact that you’re gonna be here for the rest of your lives!! And if you don’t accept that fact… I look forward to the next time blood gets spilled…” As he finished his short speech, he began to laugh. A psychotic laugh, completely devoid of sanity and humanity.

We all returned to our dorms in silence. After I arrived at my room, I flopped onto my bed. I just lied there, staring at the ceiling until fatigue consumed me and pulled into sleep. A deep, dark sleep filled with terrifying nightmares that couldn’t escape from. I couldn’t wake up, I just fell. Deeper and deeper into the blood-stained hell.


	5. Chapter 2 - Your Safety or My Future - Daily Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the traumatising first trial, everyone is shook up, but they've still gotta participate in the school life of mutual killing. What with new rooms to explore, a brand new floor, and a new motive for murder, how are the "lucky" students going to cope?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I've finally been able to update! I'm sorry that it's took so long... I've been busy with school, especially since I've started my Media Case Study, plus all of the coursework for all of my subjects has to be finished and submitted by March... But, I will still try to update regularly!! ^_^  
> On a different note, I can't believe that it took me the entire day to finish this one goddamn chapter...

I didn’t move when I woke up. I just lied there, staring at the ceiling with dead eyes. I felt broken. How was I supposed to react to this? My life was normal before I came here. The scariest thing I had to cope with was the really tall guys on our opposing teams in the tournaments… Now, I have to acknowledge that I could easily die at any moment. My head was swimming with all of these heavy thoughts. I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to push these thoughts out of my mind, but it didn’t work. My eyes snapped open again as my doorbell rang. I didn’t move. I just stared at the door. The doorbell rang again. And again. I still didn’t move. I didn’t want to see anyone, or rather, I couldn’t cope with the idea of seeing them after what happened yesterday. Eventually, the person on the other side of the door spoke up. “Hinata? Please just come out… We’re all really worried about you…” I was shocked by how vulnerable that voice sounded. “K-Kageyama?” I called out. I heard him sigh in relief. “Oh, thank God… You’re okay…” I frowned in regret at the fact I made him worry. I slowly walked over to the door and leaned onto it. “I’m sorry…” I meekly whispered as I stared at the floor. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Just… Come out already, everyone’s in the cafeteria.” I was surprised to hear this. I thought that nobody would meet up again, after witnessing… That. “I… I don’t want to…” I weakly responded. “Hinata… Please.” Kageyama pleaded in a stern yet soft tone. I shook my head, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall from my eyes. I was just so confused. I lifted my hand and slowly unlocked my door. Kageyama must have heard the ‘click’ as his hand instantly opened the door and gently grabbed onto my wrist. “Hinata, step away from the door so I can open it properly.” The soft tone in his voice was really throwing me off. I was so used to him yelling at me and calling me a dumbass, but now he was being gentle and trying to comfort me. I’m not saying that I didn’t like it, it was just… Weird. I did as he said and let him into my room. Then, he did something I never expected him to do. He hugged me. I just stood there, blinking in confusion. “Its okay, Hinata. We all feel the same way. We understand how you feel.” He muttered into my ear as he ruffled my hair. “U-Um…. O-Okay…” I really didn’t know how to respond, his sudden actions made me feel so flustered. Kageyama slowly released me and took a step back. I managed to get a good look at him. His eyes were dull with giant bags underneath them and his hair was mess. He obviously wasn’t feeling any better than I was. “So… Are you coming or not?” He asked, in an unsure tone. “Y-Yeah…” I replied in a quiet, shaky voice. We stepped out the door, and began to wander down to the cafeteria.

As we stepped through the cafeteria doors, the majority of people there looked up at us. They all looked shaken up and sleep deprived. My gaze fell onto Iwaizumi. He was just sat there, staring into space. There was absolutely no emotion on his face. I don’t really blame him… His childhood friend killed someone and was then killed himself. I glanced over the other two Seijou third years, just to see how they were holding up. They definitely weren’t their usual mischievous selves. I noticed Ushijima staring at Kageyama and me. When he noticed I was staring back, he gestured for the two of us to sit down. We took the two seats next to Nishinoya, who also looked like he was in bad shape. After confirming that everyone was there and listening, Daichi stood and began to speak. “I know that none of you feel well at all, but I noticed something on my e-handbook and thought that it was important” We all stared at him, waiting for him to continue, when he was suddenly interrupted by the monitor on the wall. “Hey! Don’t steal my thunder, O so mighty leader! I was planning on announcing this when all of you were together!” Of course… It was Monokuma… I immediately lost interest and looked away from the monitor. I didn’t trust a single word that came out of the damned plushie’s mouth. “Dadchi has already noticed this, but if you look at the maps on your e-handbooks, you’ll see that you can now examine Floor 2. And for the less bright people in the group – Looking at you, Sunshine and Shadow – That, of course, means that you can now explore the second floor of the school building!” Monokuma exclaimed while flailing his arms wildly. I was pretty pissed off at his earlier insult, but I let it slide after that announcement. “But… Why?” Suga asked, confusion laced in his voice. Monokuma pondered for a while before giving an answer. “Consider it a present for correctly solving the first murder!” Everyone looked away while Nishinoya and Iwaizumi grimaced. “Aaaaaaaanyways! Have fun exploring, Kiddos!!!” The monitor flickered and turned off after that final remark by the Monochrome teddy. “He’s just messing with us” Tanaka snarled. Everyone just stared at the floor. “Let’s explore then” A voice pulled us out of our depressed trance. The voice belonged to Eita. “H-How can you get over that so quickly?!” Yui whimpered. Eita just stared at her with a bored expression. “Think about it. More rooms to explore. There’s a chance that we could find a way to escape” He stated in a bland, slightly irritated voice. Everyone perked up at those words. He was right, there was always that possibility… But, there was still some doubts in my mind. “Right! Good thinking, Eita! Then, let’s all go to second floor, split into teams and investigate. Then, like last time, we’ll meet back here and report our findings! Okay, to the stairs!” Daichi had sprung into action and given us the orders. So, without any objections, we all made our way to stairs.

Everyone had already begun climbing up the stairs, but I stopped at the bottom. I didn’t want to explore the second floor. Monokuma had probably left some more ways for us to kill each other up there, and I didn’t want to see them. “Hey, Hinata-San” A voice called out to me. I glanced over my shoulder to see who it was. It was Tsutomu. “Just Hinata’s fine” I replied simply. He nodded at my statement. “So, you don’t wanna explore upstairs either, huh?” He asked. I just shook my head in response. “Well, if that’s the case, do you wanna join me?” He proposed. I tilted my head at his suggestion. “What do you mean?” I enquired. “Remember how the last time we investigated? The bathhouse and the swimming pool were closed. So, now that we can go up to the second floor, they could be open now!” He grinned as he explained, clearly happy at his observation. My eyes widened in surprise. “You’re right! That’s genius, Tsutomu!” I exclaimed. Tsutomu chuckled bashfully as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go! Let’s check out the bathhouse first!” He declared excitedly. I giggled and followed after him as he pulled out his e-handbook for the map.

We arrived at the large doors to the bathhouse. “So, do you think that it’ll actually be open?” I asked Tsutomu, as uncertainty began to enter my mind. “Uh… Well… It’s a possibility?” He answered, confidence was nowhere to be found in his voice. He was obviously thinking the same things I was. I sighed “Well, it’s worth a try” I grabbed hold of the door handle, and took a deep breath. I pushed the door, and it opened. Tsutomu and I gasped and looked at each other. We both had excited sparkles in our eyes. “It worked!” We cheered in unison. “Let’s look! Let’s look!” Tsutomu babbled excitedly. “Right!” I instantly agreed. I pushed the door open and made my way into the room. It was a locker room, there wasn’t really much in there, just some lockers to put your clothes in, a few baskets with towels inside them, and four benches. I quickly ran over to the door that lead to the actual bathhouse. I was really excited to see what it was like. Hopefully, we could use it to calm our nerves. I waited for Tsutomu to join me, and then we swung the doors open together. It was amazing. It was a huge room, with a giant tub of water with steam rising from it right in the middle of the room. There was also the smaller wash stations at the side of the room with small tubs filled with hygiene products. I noticed another door on the other side of the room. I pointed it out to Tsutomu and approached the door together. Tsutomu swung the door open, and we both instantly began to sweat. The intense heat hit us like a truck. It was a sauna. “Whoa, this school really does have everything!” I thought out loud. “True… But, uh, let’s get out of here… I can’t handle this heat…” Tsutomu muttered in response. I looked over at him, to see that his face was bright red. I flinched in surprise, before quickly grabbing his arm and pulling him out of the bathhouse, into the locker room, and forcefully sat him on one of the benches. “A-Are you okay?!” I anxiously asked. He giggled sheepishly at my panicked state. “Sorry for worrying you… I’m just not too good with heat… I’m better now, though” He stood up and pulled his e-handbook out again. “Well, let’s go check out the swimming pool ‘Kay?” He suggested. I sighed in relief to see that he was okay, then nodded. I offered my hand to help him up and let him lead the way.

There were two separate doors: One for the boys’ changing room, and one for the girls’ changing room. Tsutomu and I walked over to the boys’ door, but Tsutomu grabbed onto my hoodie to stop me. I glanced at him to see what was wrong, and saw him pointing at the ceiling. I directed my attention to what he was pointing at. My eyes widened in fright at the sight. It was a gatling gun. “N-Not another one…” I whispered as I remembered what happened at the entrance hall. “W-Why is it there?” Tsutomu whimpered. “Good question, Bowl Cut!” A familiar voice called out. Tsutomu and I shrieked in surprise, but then groaned when we saw who it was. Monokuma… “Geez, what’s with the sour faces? I just came to explain the purpose of that gun for you!” He pouted. We just stared at him emotionlessly. He continued anyway. “That gating gun is there to take care of any pervs that wanna peek!” I didn’t get it. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Monokuma rolled his eyes at me. “It means that if a guy tries to get into the girls’ room or if a girl tries to get into the boys’ room, they’ll become target practise for this gun here!” Tsutomu and I both started shaking at the thought of what would happen. I shook my head then turned back to the boys’ changing room door. “Oh! One more thing! You can only open these doors with your e-handbooks! Just hold it over that scanner right there! I know that you kids don’t like me, but I still help you from the kindness of my heart…” Monokuma trailed off in an overdramatic voice. Tsutomu just glanced at me and raised an eyebrow, while I rolled my eyes in response. I pulled out m e-handbook, opened the door, and walked away from the annoying plush toy with Tsutomu following close behind. I let an irritated sigh as I scanned the changing room. There wasn’t really much there. Just a few lockers, some exercising equipment, training weights, and a poster with a girls’ idol group wearing swimsuits, kinda like the one that Tanaka and Nishinoya put up in our club room back at Karasuno. Then there was the door leading to the swimming pool. I walked over to it and opened it up, I was actually really excited about the idea of having a swimming pool that we could use whenever we wanted. It was huge! It was the same size as an Olympic swimming pool! Tsutomu and I just stood there, awestruck. We didn’t know how to react to that. I stepped towards the pool, crouched down, and dipped my hand into the water. It was the perfect temperature. The smell of Chlorine filled the air surrounding the pool. A content smile crept its way onto my face. Tsutomu spoke up and pulled me out of my daydream. “Well, it looks like we’ve examined everything important… Let’s head back to the cafeteria ‘kay?” I shook the excess water off my hand as I nodded my head, then followed after Tsutomu to the cafeteria.

We were the first ones there. We had to wait for about half an hour until everyone else began to show up. Once everyone had arrived and sat down, Daichi spoke up. “So, who wants to go first?” Yui raised her hand. “Kiyoko, Yachi and I found a library on the second floor. It’s huge, and has thousands of books of different genres. There wasn’t really much else in there” Kiyoko then added some extra detail to the report. “We did find a laptop, but it doesn’t work at all. We tried all sorts of things to get it to work… But, still nothing. Yachi’s gonna take care of it, just in case she’ll be able to get it working” As she finished that sentence, Yachi held up the laptop for us to see. It looked pretty damn old… I could see why it wasn’t working. Kyoutani was the next one to speak. “Yahaba and I checked out the physics lab. The only interesting stuff in there were all kinds of weird machines.” Everyone stared at him in stunned silence. “What?” He spat out. “D-Did Kyoutani just speak without anybody forcing him to?” Matsukawa gasped. “Our angry son is growing up!” Hanamaki exclaimed, wiping a fake tear from his eye. Kyoutani just let out an annoyed growl. The next few reports didn’t really have any important information. They just revealed that the second floor also contained a Chemistry Lab, Art Room, Photography Room, and according to the map, a storage room that we can enter through the art room. However, all of these room are currently locked. Finally, everyone focused their attention on Tsutomu and I. “Come to think of it… I didn’t see either of you while I was exploring the Second floor…” Shirabu muttered while glaring at us, suspicion clearly visible in his eyes. “We stayed on the first floor” Tsutomu stated bluntly. “Why?” Ushijima interrogated us further. “Tsutomu thought that, since the second floor is now available, maybe the other rooms of the first floor were open too” I answered in an irritated voice to mask my fear of being the centre of everyone’s suspicions. “And were they?” Ennoshita asked in a more gentle tone than everyone else, making me feel more relaxed. “Yep. The bathhouse has a giant tub and a sauna, which could help ease our nerves” I replied. “And there’s something you need to know about the Swimming Pool…” Tsutomu added in a less than enthusiastic voice. “Which is?” Kageyama quizzed. “You can only enter the changing room of your respective gender. If you try to enter the other room, you’ll be shot by the gating gun hanging from the ceiling…” Tsutomu whispered in a shaky voice. The room fell silent. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Suga had started to unconsciously rub the scratch on his cheek. Nobody really knew what to say.

The silence lasted a few minutes until a loud, obnoxious voice rang out across the room. “Good job at collecting and sharing information, ya little bastards!” You guessed it… It was Monokuma… “The hell do you want now?” Tsukishima grunted as Yamaguchi positioned himself behind him, away from Monokuma. “To give my precious students something, obviously” Monokuma replied with a worrying grin. “W-What is it?” Yachi whimpered, terrified of the answer. “A new motive, of course” Monokuma stated with a sadistic smirk. Everyone froze. You could feel the fear radiating through the air. “N-Not again…” Yamaguchi whispered with a defeated tone while shaking his head. “Oh no no no! You misunderstand! It’s not another video! This time, it’s just a promise” Monokuma smirked again. “What is it?” Yahaba enquired with an unsure voice. “Just this: If nobody commits a murder in the next 24 hours, I’ll give all of you injuries that will put an end to your volleyball careers” Monokuma stated in a monotone and bloodthirsty voice. “W-What do you mean?” I squeaked, my feet frozen in place. “What I mean is, if nobody dies in a day… None of you will ever be able to play volleyball ever again… Maybe, I’ll cut off one of your arms… Or maybe one of legs… Or maybe I’ll blind you… Or maybe, just maybe… I’ll paralyse you for the rest of your life” Monokuma had begun to cackle halfway through his demonic fantasies while everyone just stared at him, completely filled with terror. Monokuma composed himself and spoke one last sentence. “Well then, your time limit begins now” And with that, he walked away, howling with laughter. I began to hyperventilate, unable to contain my fear. “H-Hinata? Are you okay?” Kageyama asked, concern clear in his voice. “I-I’m fine! I just need to be alone for a while, okay?!” I shrieked as I quickly ran back to my room.

When I made it back to my room, I slammed the door shut and locked it. I slid down it as I continued to hyperventilate. Tears had begun streaming down my face. I was terrified. There was no other way to describe it. I dashed into my bathroom, filled the sink with ice cold water and slammed my face into it. The freezing sensation helped bring me back to my senses. I pulled my head back out of the water, gasping. Okay, just think this through… There’s no way the person behind this would actually do that to us, right? Yeah, it’s all gotta be some kind of sick joke. That’s right, it’s all joke. I managed to calm myself down by thinking like that, but then a memory flashed in my mind. Oikawa. That sickening memory reminded me that the Mastermind of all this was serious. If they were willing to elaborately murder Oikawa and mock his death, then they would be more than willing to critically injure all of us. I began to pace up and down my room restlessly. I couldn’t stand any of these thoughts. They terrified me. They shook me right down to my core. And there were just so many unanswered questions. This entire situation made no sense whatsoever. Just what the hell is going on?

“Wake up, ya little shits!” I was woken up by sudden loud voice. I was on the floor of my room, resting against the side of my bed. I must have tired myself by worrying so much. The voice came from the monitor. “While you guys were dreaming of sunshine and rainbows in la la land, it seems that one of your friends got into a little bit of trouble! Hurry up and find them! Emergency! Emergency!” Monokuma’s playful voice rang out from the speakers. A sinking feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. I stumbled up and ran towards the door. I fumbled with the lock and nearly fell out of the door. As I left my room, I heard Daichi speaking. “Okay, we’ll all divide into small teams to stay safe, and- Nishinoya! Get back here! Don’t run off!” As I heard those words, I saw Nishinoya rushing towards me, He violently grabbed hold of my arm and yanked me along. “Shoyo! You’re with me!” His voice sounded frantic. He keep scanning his sight from left to right as we ran along the hallways, trying to find any clues to point in the direction of the missing classmate. After running for a while, we reached the changing rooms. Nishinoya kept twitching his head in different directions, his eyes wild with fear. I scanned my e-handbook to enter the boys’ changing room, just in case. Nishinoya dashed into the room behind me. The sinking feeling in my stomach grew as I spotted some smeared bloodstains on the walls. I gulped as I glanced towards the door towards the swimming pool. Nishinoya shoved past me and dived through the door, and I dashed in after him. My blood turned cold.

There was a body, lying on the ground. A large scratch on their right arm, oozing blood onto the tiled floor beneath it and their hand weakly clutching onto the edge of the pool. Their brown hair was dripping wet and sticking to their head. Their soaked shirt was clinging to their skin. Their left arm and head were limply dangling into the clear water of the pool. I tried to speak, but the words just wouldn’t come out. I knew who it was, I just couldn’t say it. Then Nishinoya whispered in a broken-hearted voice as tears formed in his distraught eyes. “Chi…ka…ra…” We were staring at the drowned body of Chikara Ennoshita. I was frozen in place. I couldn’t even process what was going on. I couldn’t believe that someone had been murdered again. I glanced at Nishinoya. He was completely motionless, tears streaming down his face from his sorrowful eyes. As I heard footsteps approaching, Eita appeared through the doorway. “Hey guys, have you fou-” His question was cut off by his own startled scream.  
“Bing Bong! Bing Bong! A body has discovered! After a brief investigation period, we will commence with the class trial!”


	6. Chapter 2 - Your Safety or My Future - Deadly Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second murder has occurred, so now a second investigation must be conducted. How did Ennoshita die? Why was he found in the swimming pool? Just what was he doing before he was killed? The answers to these questions must be found, or everyone else's lives will be forfeit...

“H-Huh?” I let out a confused croak after hearing Monokuma’s announcement. It seemed to pull me back into reality. “O-Oh right, you were unconscious when the first one played. That’s the Body Discovery Announcement. It’s played when at least three people discover a dead body” Eita slowly explained to me. “Eita-San. Could you gather everyone else and bring them here, please?” Nishinoya spoke in a broken voice, not looking away from Ennoshita’s lifeless body for even a split second. Eita looked at him with a pitiful face. “R-Right” He shakily agreed and ran off back through the door. The look in Nishinoya’s eyes scared me. They looked dead and empty, like there was no one there. Like no soul was in his body. It terrified me, because it made one thought repeat over and over in my mind: “This is not the Yuu Nishinoya I used to know” He had lost that warm and wild look in his eyes. He had lost that crazy energy that practically radiated off of him. He had lost two of his best friends.

It didn’t take too long for everyone to gather in the Swimming Pool and round Ennoshita’s soaking wet body. “Ennoshita..!” Tanaka breathed out his lost friends name in disbelief. Suga winced and looked away, unable to stand the sight. Daichi took a deep breath before announcing “Let’s get investigating. If we don’t find his killer, we’ll all up sharing the same fate” Everyone either nodded or hummed in agreement, then set off in different directions to start their own investigations. I noticed that Nishinoya kneeled beside Ennoshita’s body, clearly starting his investigation with the victim’s body. I swallowed nervously before stepping towards him. “U-Um, Nishinoya… Senpai?” I spoke up in an unsure voice, hoping to get his attention. He hummed in response as he turned to face me. His empty eyes burned into mine. “U-Uh… Well, um, I was just wondering if we could investigate together? You look like you could use some company… And, I really wanna find Ennoshita-San’s killer” I awkwardly explained to him in a quiet tone. His eyes widened in surprise and, just for a moment, I saw a bit of light shimmer in them. He looked away, deep in thought, before replying with a quick “Sure” I sighed in relief, then as I kneeled down next to him, he added “Thank you, Shoyo” This time it was my eyes that widened in surprise, before I composed myself and simply responded with an understanding smile. After that small exchange, the two of us put our hands together in a small prayer, and then began our examination of Ennoshita’s body.

[Monokuma File No.2  
Victim – Chikara Ennoshita, Second Year, Karasuno High School  
Location – Body discovered in Swimming Pool, First Floor  
The victim received a single stab to their right arm, a blow to the back of their head and a graze on their forehead. However, the cause of death was suffocation due to drowning. The estimated time of death is around 01:30AM]

We decided to investigate his body the way we found it first, and then pull him away from the water and flip him over afterwards, just to see if there were any other clues. We took a closer look at the scratch on his arm. “It looks pretty deep. Must have been made by a knife or something…” Nishinoya observed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. But, if the killer had a knife, why would they resort to drowning?” I questioned. Nishinoya scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. “Chikara was stronger than he looked. He probably gave the killer a hard time, so they forgot the knife and used the pool instead” He suggested. I hummed in thought as I looked over Ennoshita’s body for more details. My eyes fell onto something that I hadn’t noticed before. There was large purple bruise on the back of Ennoshita’s neck, indicating that something or someone had hit him there. Hard. What did that have to do with his death? I pointed it to Nishinoya and, after deliberating for a little while, he suggested “Maybe if we have a look at the other side of him, we’ll be able to make sense of it” I agreed instantly, since there weren’t really many clues on Ennoshita’s back.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Scratch on Right Arm – The victim received a deep scratch wound on their right arm. It seems to be left by some sort of knife  
Bruise on Back of Head – The victim has a large bruise on the back of their head, suggesting that they were struck from behind]

The both of us were hesitant to touch Ennoshita’s body, but we knew that we had to. We both took a deep breath and Nishinoya uttered a guilty “Sorry, Chikara” then grabbed hold of his sides and gently hoisted them up. His body was cold. So scarily cold. I finally understood the expression “death’s icy grip” because it had clearly taken a hold of Ennoshita. We pulled him out and away from the pool so his entire body was lying on the tiled floor, then we grabbed his sides again and carefully flipped his body over so he was lying face-up. His eyes were wide open and bright red, irritated by the Chlorine. His mouth was half open, water pouring from it. And there was a small injury on his forehead. This must be what the Monokuma File mentioned. “What could have caused that?” I asked Nishinoya as I pointed at the wound in question. He stared at the graze with a troubled expression. “I… I honestly don’t know…” He eventually sighed in defeat. I furrowed my eyebrows together as I tried to think hard about what could have caused that injury. Then an idea suddenly appeared in my mind. “Wait, what if the injuries on Ennoshita’s forehead and back of his head are linked?” I suggested. Nishinoya tilted his head at my words. “What do you mean by that?” He asked. “What I mean is, what if the killer hit Ennoshita-San on the back of his head and made him fall onto the floor and injure his forehead?” I explained my train of thought slowly, hoping that my ramblings made sense. Nishinoya’s eyes widened. “That’s genius, Shoyo! That’s make perfect sense! The killer probably hit Chikara to make him fall over, so they could drown him!” He exclaimed. To be honest, I hadn’t even considered that the killer did that with the intent of drowning him, but I went along with it. “Y-Yeah, so, uh, are there any other clues on his body?” I awkwardly changed the subject. Nishinoya carefully scanned over Ennoshita’s body one last time, before replying “It doesn’t look like it… Let’s go look somewhere else…” His voice sounded hesitant, like he didn’t want to leave Ennoshita. I nodded. “Yeah, let’s see if there’s anything in the Changing Room” Nishinoya nodded in agreement with my suggestion, then lead the way with me following close behind.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Forehead Injury – There is a graze-like injury on the victim’s forehead. It seems the victim was knocked to the floor by the killer]

The moment I stepped through the door, I turned my head to the right, remembering the smeared bloodstains. I stepped towards them to get a closer look at them. Ennoshita only had one injury that produced blood, and that was the one on his arm… With that being the case, how did he manage to smear his blood onto the wall? Nishinoya seemed to instantly realise what I was thinking about, because he made a suggestion. “Maybe the killer was chasing him…” He frowned as the words left his mouth, like it hurt him to think about it. “That… Definitely makes the most sense…” I hesitantly admitted. An awkward silence filled the room, weighing down on the two of us, until a sudden thought crossed my mind. “Wait a minute…” I muttered. Nishinoya glanced at me with a confused gaze. “What is it, Shoyo?” He asked. “This is the boys’ changing room… And the girls can’t get in here, otherwise they’d be torn to shreds by the gun out there… So, doesn’t this mean that the killer has to be a guy?” I explained my thought process. His eyes slowly widened when he realised my point. “That hadn’t even occurred to me… So, we can remove Yachi-Chan, Kiyoko-San, and Yui-San from the list of suspects, right?” I thought about it before replying. “Yeah, but we should still have some suspicions. It’s best if we’re open-minded about this… Even though, I really doubt that any of them did it…” He huffed as he crossed in arms and looked away in thought. “Yeah, I guess…” Knowing Nishinoya, he was probably not too fond of the idea of suspecting Kiyoko. He walked off towards the weight lifting equipment. I decided to check out the lockers, starting from the top left. They were all brand new, with a shine that said that they had never been touched. I tried to open one of them, but it was locked shut. It wouldn’t even shift, no matter how hard I pulled. I kept scanning each and every locker, but they were all exactly the same. Until I got to the bottom right locker. There was a small dent by the side of it, and the door seemed a little loose. I wondered if I could actually open this one, so I bent down to get a closer look. Thanks to the dent, there was a small hole, just about large enough to fit my fingers through. I slipped them through the hole and gently pulled the door open. I gulped when I saw what was in there. “U-Um… Nishinoya-Senpai? You might wanna see this…” I squeaked out to him. “What is it? Did you find something important? Cause I’ve found absolutely nothing over here” He replied as he walked over. He let out a slight gasp as he saw the object within the locker. It was a knife. A knife with a bloodstain. “So this is what the killer used to attack Chikara, huh?” Nishinoya growled as he frowned. “It seems like it… But… Doesn’t it kinda look like a kitchen knife?” I muttered with a cautious voice. Nishinoya leaned in to get a closer look at the knife. “It is a kitchen knife” He stated, confirming my suspicions. He slowly stood up, and offered his hand to help me up. “That’s pretty much it in here. Let’s go look somewhere else now” He stated in a determined voice. “Right…” I timidly agreed as I took his hand and was pulled up from the floor. “Where are we gonna look next?” I curiously asked, as we walked towards the exit of the Changing Room. “I… dunno. We’ll decide when we get out there” He replied bluntly, as he pulled the door open.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Smeared Bloodstains on Wall – The bloodstains on the wall near the door to the pool are smeared, suggesting that the victim was chased by the killer. But where did the chase begin?  
Blood Stained Knife – The knife that was used to injure the victim was found in one of the lockers in the Boys’ Changing Room. It appears to be a kitchen knife]

The moment we exited, we locked eyes with Suga. He raised his hand in a greeting gesture as we walked towards him. “What are you doing out here by yourself, Suga-San?” Nishinoya asked. “Waiting for Michimiya and Daichi to come back” He responded simply. “Where are they?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion. “Michimiya’s investigating the Girls’ Locker Room, and Daichi went to ask Monokuma if the gun has fired any bullets” He explained as he pointed up to the gun on the ceiling. “So, did you guys find anything?” He continued, lowering his arm and glancing at Nishinoya with worried stare. “Yeah, we’ve found a few clues…” Nishinoya muttered, glancing to the side. “But, there’s something that bothering me…” I interrupted. “Just, why was Ennoshita-San in the Boys’ Changing Room? It doesn’t make any sense to me…” I frowned as I began to ponder the possibilities. “Um… I think I may know a possible reason why” Suga spoke up, uncertainty in his voice. Nishinoya and I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to continue. “Well, after that motive announcement last night, he said that he wanted to check on all the first years, just to see if they were okay. I actually saw him, when was trying to check on you… He didn’t get a response, though…” Suga trailed off as he stated that last detail. “Ah, uh… I must have fallen asleep by then… I probably tired myself from panicking…” I awkwardly admitted. “Yeah, that’s understandable… I think it was around Midnight when we saw him, since I saw him when Daichi, Michimiya, and I were heading back to our dorms.” Suga continued. Just as he had finished his statement, Yui came out of the Girls’ Changing Room. “Hey, Michimiya, you find anything?” Suga asked her as she approached us. She shook her head. “No, there was absolutely nothing in there” She stated. “So, if we want to learn more about what Ennoshita was doing last night, we’ll need to ask the other first years, right?” I asked, just to make sure that my idea made sense. “Yeah, that seems about right” Suga answered. I began to walk off, with Nishinoya following close behind. “Good luck, guys” Yui called out after us. “So, we’ve gotta find and talk to: Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Yachi… And, Tsutomu?” Nishinoya listed thoughtfully. “Yeah, pretty much… Question is: Where can we find them?” I replied, as we carried on walking down the corridor.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Sugawara’s Testimony – The victim wanted to check up on the first years. Sugawara last saw the victim at Midnight as he was heading back to his dorm with Daichi and Yui]

We just wandered down the corridor, until we heard something from the Trash Room. We both glanced at each other before opening the door to see what the noise was. We swung the door open, only to be welcomed by the sight of Kageyama inspecting the incinerator. “Uhhh… Kageyama?” I called out. The sudden sound must have startled him, since he tried to quickly stand up, only to hit his head on the incinerator. He quietly swore as he turned round to face us. “What the hell is it?” He growled as he glared at me. Great… All I’ve done is call out his name, and he’s already pissed off with me… I just nervously sighed at his irritated state, so Nishinoya spoke up for me. “What are you doing in here?” Kageyama rubbed his head a few more times before standing up straight and answering. “I thought that the killer might have tried to dispose of evidence by using the incinerator, like last time…” Nishinoya glanced at the incinerator. “Wow… That’s a pretty good idea, considering it’s from you, Kageyama-Kun!” I exclaimed in a mocking tone. Kageyama simply responded by whacking me over the head. “OW!” Nishinoya didn’t really pay attention. “So, did you find anything?” He asked, as he turned his attention from the incinerator to Kageyama. Kageyama shook his head. “No, nothing. And the incinerator doesn’t have any signs of being used” Nishinoya sighed in relief. “Well, that makes it a lot easier…” Kageyama absent-mindedly nodded in agreement. I suddenly remembered what Suga had told me earlier. “Oh yeah! Kageyama, did you see Ennoshita last night? Apparently, he was checking up on all of us first years” I brought up the topic with a high voice. Kageyama pouted in thought as he tried to remember. “Yeah, I saw him. I saw him outside your door, after Sugawara-San and the others had walked off. I had come to check up on you, but Ennoshita-San told me that you were asleep. Not a lot happened… He just asked me if I was okay, and if there was anything I wanted to talk about, and then he went off to try and find Tsukishima and Yamaguchi…” He recounted his memories in a low, thoughtful voice. “Okay, thanks for the help, Kageyama” I thanked him as I began to walk away. “Where the hell are you going?!” He yelled after me, probably confused. “To find Tsukishima and Yamaguchi” I replied bluntly. “All the accounts we find are helpful to finding out what happened to Chikara” Nishinoya added. “Oh… Well, good luck… I’m gonna carry on searching in here” Kageyama called out to us one last time before we stepped through the door and began our search for Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Kageyama’s Testimony – Kageyama met the victim outside of Hinata’s dorm room at approximately 00:05AM. They spoke briefly before the victim left to find Tsukishima and Yamaguchi]

“Hey Shoyo, quick question” Nishinoya spoke up as we started climbing the stairs to the second floor. “Hmm? What is it, Noya-San?” I asked as I turned my head to face him. “Why are we looking for Tsukishima and Yamaguchi at the same time?” He quizzed, tilting his head. “Cause they’re basically never apart… And something tells me that their testimonies will be exactly the same, anyway” I replied with a smirk. Those two are practically attached at the hip. Nishinoya just chuckled and muttered a quick “True” in response. We wandered around, checking all of the open rooms on the second floor, until we finally found the pair in the library. Judging by the more-pissed-than-usual look on Tsukishima’s face, they hadn’t found anything. Yamaguchi noticed us first and gently tapped Tsukishima on the shoulder to let him know about our presence. Tsukishima just clicked his tongue in annoyance. “If you’re looking for evidence, there’s nothing here” He stated in a bland, irritated voice. “We’re not here to look for evidence” Nishinoya retorted. Yamaguchi hummed and tilted his head in confusion. “We’re just here to ask you if either of you saw Ennoshita-San last night. He went round talking to the first years, so we wanna know where he went.” I explained simply. “Oh! Tsukki and I saw him at the same time!” Yamaguchi piped up. I just glanced at Nishinoya with a knowing smile. He had to bite his lip to hold in his laughter. Tsukishima glared at Nishinoya questioningly as Yamaguchi carried on. “We were in the cafeteria, just talking when he came in and asked us if we were doing okay. We spoke to him for about fifteen minutes until he went to see Yachi.” Nishinoya nodded slowly as he pondered over the new information before asking another question. “Why were you two together?” Yamaguchi responded with a sweet smile. “Tsukki didn’t want me to be by myself, just so I’d be safer.” Tsukishima crossed him arms and looked away to the side. “Shut up, Yamaguchi” He mumbled, slight embarrassment in his voice. “Sorry Tsukki!” Yamaguchi chirped. I giggled lightly. “Speaking of Yachi-San, do you know where she is?” I asked. “She went to investigate in the kitchen” Tsukishima huffed in response. “Okay then, thanks for that” I raised my hand in a thankful gesture as I walked back towards the door, Nishinoya trailing after me. “Good luck, guys!” Yamaguchi called out as we began our walk back down the stairs to find Yachi.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Tsukishima & Yamaguchi’s testimony – The two of the saw the victim in the cafeteria at approximately 00:10AM. The spoke for fifteen minutes before the victim when to search for Yachi]

We found Yacht exactly where Tsukishima said we would. In the kitchen, with Kiyoko. Nishinoya instantly brightened up when he spotted Kiyoko. “Kiyoko-San! How has your search been going?” He enquired cheerfully, with a silly grin and a bright red blush radiating from his cheeks. She flinched at the sudden loud voice and turned to face us. “We’ve noticed that one of the kitchen knives is missing” She stated simply and pointed to the area where the knives are stored. Sure enough, there was a gap where a knife should be. “So, the knife we found in the locker was from the kitchen, huh?” I asked Nishinoya. He nodded his head with certainty. “Sure seems like it” Yachi sighed, seemingly relieved by the fact that the knife had been located. “By the way, Yachi-San, did you see Ennoshita-San last night?” I asked her, getting to the point. She pressed her index finger to the side of her mouth as she tried to remember. “Oh! Yes, I did. I was in here with Shimizu-Senpai. I was scared, so she suggested making myself some tea to sooth my nerves. It was…. Hmmm… What time did he come in here?” She trailed off, and looked to Kiyoko to fill in the last few details. Kiyoko pushed up her glasses as she thought. “It was about 00:45AM when he came in here. He just asked Hitoka-Chan how she was feeling, and then left after seeing that she already had someone to comfort her.” She explained in her silky smooth voice. “Oh! That’s right! He said he was going to find Tsutomu-San!” Yachi exclaimed in relief. “Okay, thanks for the information! Time to find Tsutomu!” I thanked the two beautiful managers as I began to walk away… But, that was when I noticed something was missing. “Uhh… Noya-San?” I called out, looking over my shoulder. “Kiyoko-San, would you like me to protect you? There is a killer loose after all!” He was trying to impress Kiyoko, with a goofy, love-struck grin on his face. Kiyoko didn’t respond, she was used to Noya and Tanaka’s antics. I just rolled my eyes and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him along with me. “C’mon, we’re still investigating” I sighed. I began searching for Tsutomu while Nishinoya simply wailed out for Kiyoko.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Missing Knife – A knife is missing from the kitchen, confirming that the knife found in the locker was originally from the kitchen.  
Yachi’s Testimony – Yachi and Kiyoko saw the victim in the Kitchen at approximately 00:45AM. They spoke briefly, until the victim left in search of Tsutomu]

We finally found Tsutomu, standing guard outside of Ennoshita’s dorm room. “Hey Tsutomu, have they found anything in his room?” I enquired as I approached him. He shook his head. “Nope, and I wouldn’t go in there, if I were you… Shirabu-San and Eita-San both seem to be getting pissed off by the lack of evidence… So, yeah, just letting you know for your own safety” He informed the two of us with a nervous chuckle. “Anyway, we were actually looking for you” Nishinoya told him bluntly, after finally recovering from his mini depression from being separated from Kiyoko. Tsutomu’s face scrunched into a confused frown. “Did you see Ennoshita-San last night? He was checking on all the first years after the motive announcement” I explained. He glanced off to the side, and began tapping his index finger against the side of his arm. His frown grew deeper as he concentrated on trying to remember. “Ah! I remember now! He came to talk to me when I was in the gym. I was practising my serves to try and calm myself down. He just asked me if I was okay, and if I wanted to talk to him about anything… But, that’s basically all that happened…” He murmured quietly. “Do you know what he did afterwards?” Nishinoya asked curiously. “He said he was pretty tired, so he was gonna head back to his dorm. I think it was around 01:15AM… I stayed in the gym until about 02:00AM” He added with low voice. I was just about to thank him for the information, when I was interrupted by a monitor. “Attention All Students! I’ve got pretty damn bored waiting for you… SO GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE NOW, SO WE CAN GET THE SHOW ON THE ROAD!” Monokuma’s irritating voice rang out across the entire area. The three just stared at each other and sighed, before heading over to the elevator.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Tsutomu’s Testimony – Tsutomu saw the victim in the gymnasium at approximately 00:55AM. They spoke briefly, until the victim headed back to his dorm room at 01:15AM. Tsutomu stayed in the gymnasium until 02:00AM]

Everyone reluctantly piled into the elevator, dread consuming every single feature of their faces. We knew that someone was going to die… And that we were gonna be the one’s responsible for their death… Before I had even realised it, the doors had slammed shut, and the elevator had begun its descent to the hellish courtroom. I felt a hand grab onto my shoulder. I turned to see that it belonged to Kageyama. “You okay?” He asked me quietly. I weakly nodded and whispered out a croaky “yeah” It obviously didn’t sound very convincing, so Kageyama gave my shoulder a comforting squeeze. I took a deep breath as the elevator shuddered to a halt, and the doors swung open.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, let the second class trial of our School Life of Mutual Killing… Commence!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long... I've been losing motivation cause of the lack of response I've been getting... I need feedback to improve my writing, ya know?  
> But, here's a question: Who do you guys think the killer is???


	7. Chapter 2 - Your Safety or My Future - Class Trial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second trial begins. This time to solve the murder of Chikara Ennoshita. Who was the mysterious killer that submerged Ennoshita's life into the cloudy waters of despair. And how will this trial affect everyone taking part in it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks to a couple of sweeties who left me some adorable comments (You know who you are, and I love you!) I actually managed to work up the motivation to write a new chapter!!  
> Also, I'm sorry if the execution seems too ridiculous... I'm just not very creative, and the executions in Dangan Ronpa are 'WTF' levels of crazy, sooooooo.... Yeah °3°

We all positioned ourselves behind our podium for the second time, stiff with fear and anticipation. There were two new portraits at the now empty podiums: One of Oikawa, one of Ennoshita. Both of them had bright red crosses messily painted across their faces. I winced and looked away from them. I hated the red crosses, they reminded me of blood, which was probably what Monokuma was going for… That just made me hate him, and whoever was controlling him, even more. “Now then, let’s get started with the trial of Chikara Ennoshita’s murder. Someone couldn’t handle the idea of losing their future, so they decided to drown Ennoshita in their despair… Get it?! Ahaahahahahaha!!!!” Monokuma laughed uncontrollably at his really crappy pun. Everyone just scowled at the sadistic plushie, except Nishinoya who grimaced at the floor and gripped his podium in anger. Iwaizumi sighed and spoke up. “So, uh, how do we start with this?”

“I just want to start by saying that I don’t think that the killer had originally intended to drown Ennoshita-San” I state in a bold, clear voice. Everyone stopped and stared at me. “Why is that?” Ushijima asked, his intense gaze focused on me. “Nishinoya and I found a few pieces of evidence that suggest that the killer had intended to stab Ennoshita” I explained. Nishinoya nodded to tell everyone that I was telling the truth. “Can you describe these pieces of evidences to us, please?” Daichi requested politely. “The first one was the injury on his arm. There was a deep cut on his right arm that looked like it had come from some sort of blade. The second one was a smeared bloodstain on the wall near the door to the Swimming Pool, Ennoshita must have bumped into the wall while he was running away from the killer. The third one was a blood-stained knife that we found in one of the lockers.” I listed them and described them slowly. “Also, that knife appears to have come from the Kitchen, as one of the knives that hangs on the wall is missing” Kiyoko added simply. Yahaba raised his hand slightly to ask a question. “But, if that’s the case, why did the killer drown Ennoshita instead of stabbing him?” His eyebrows were scrunched together in confusion. A few of the others nodded in agreement with his question. “Well, I think that the killer attacked Ennoshita in the Boys’ Changing Room and managed to injure his arm. This probably caused Ennoshita to fall onto the wall, where he noticed the door to the Swimming Pool. He most likely thought that he could escape through that door, so he ran through it. The killer followed him and noticed the giant pool. They probably realised that it would be easier to drown him. They hit him and knocked him to the floor, which is how Ennoshita got the injuries on the back of his head and his forehead. Then, they forced his head under the water and held it there until he finally died from the lack of Oxygen and the water that filled his lungs…” I explained the scenario that I imagined had taken place. 

After I was finished, everyone just stood there and stared at me in stunned silence. “When the hell did you become so smart? It’s disgusting…” Tsukishima remarked snarkily, breaking the silence. “Excuse me?!” I barked indignantly, pissed off by his irritating spite. Suga sighed and directed his attention towards Tsukishima. “There’s no need to be so rude, Tsukishima… Besides, I think Hinata might be onto something, ‘cause that sounded completely plausible. Good job, Hinata!” Sugawara gave me his signature sweet smile, immediately brightening up my mood. Tsukishima just gave an agitated tut as he looked away. Shirabu raised another question. “But, why was Ennoshita in the Boys’ Changing Room?” Matsukawa and Hanamaki both tilted their heads at the question. “He’s got a point” They said in unison, while nodding their heads. That’s when Yui finally spoke up. “Oh, he went to check up on all of the first years last night. He wanted to see if they were all okay after the Motive Announcement” She explained earnestly. Daichi and Suga both agreed with her statement quietly. “Yeah, Suga-San told me that he saw him when he came to check up on me, but I was asleep so I didn’t respond…” I added ineptly. Sugawara nodded to confirm my statement. “Yeah, that’s how we knew he was checking on the first years. Although, we left to go to our dorms before him, so we don’t know here he went afterwards…” He shrugged awkwardly as he admitted that last part.

“He didn’t go anywhere at first. I saw him outside of Hinata’s dorm room just after you three left” Kageyama suddenly announced, mostly to Daichi, Suga, and Yui. Eita gently placed his left hand onto his chin as he began to think. “Did you talk to him?” He enquired. Kageyama replied with a simple “Yes” causing Eita to roll his eyes. “And? What did you talk about?” Eita added, dragging out his words sarcastically. Kageyama folded his arms across his chest as he pouted. “Not a lot… He just asked me if I was doing okay, and if I wanted to talk to him about anything… Then, he left in the direction of the Entrance Hall. I didn’t really think much of it, and just went back to my dorm room…” He attested sincerely. Kyoutani gruffly spoke up with his usual scowl on his face. “Then, where did he go next?”

“He came to the Cafeteria to speak to Tsukki and me” Yamaguchi answered in sweet, soft tone. “We didn’t really talk for very long, like Kageyama said, he just asked us if we were okay and if we wanted to talk to him about anything. But, we didn’t have anything that we wanted to talk to him about since we had already talked to each other about our concerns” He continued in a simple, sincere tone. Everyone looked at Tsukishima, to see if he could confirm Yamaguchi’s testimony. He just huffed and nodded slightly in response. “Okay then, where did he go next?” Iwaizumi asked bluntly. “The Kitchen” Yamaguchi and Yachi replied in unison, then looked at each other with surprised faces. Yacht awkwardly and nervously carried on. “U-Um… Uh… He came into the Kitchen, were Shimizu-Senpai and I were making ourselves some tea to sooth our nerves. It was exactly the same as Kageyama-Kun, Yamaguchi-Kun, and Tsukishima-Kun: He asked if I was okay and if I had anything that I wanted to talk about. I just explained that Shimizu-Senpai was already comforting me, and that I appreciated his offer, then he went off to try and find Tsutomu-San.” Yachi made lots of strange, nervous waving motions with her arms as she gave her testimony. “Kiyoko-San, that’s so sweet of you!” Tanaka suddenly cheered in a love-struck voice. “There’s more important matters at hand” Kiyoko replied bluntly. “I love when she ignores me!” Everyone chose to ignore his ramblings.

“Come to think of it, I remember Tsutomu’s testimony. He said that he saw Ennoshita in the Gymnasium at around 1:15AM while he was practising serves to calm himself down and take his mind off of the situation. They spoke briefly, with the conversation basically playing out exactly the same as everyone else. Then, Ennoshita left, claiming that he was going back to his dorm room because he was tired, but Tsutomu didn’t leave the Gymnasium until 2:00AM. That’s basically what happened… Right, Tsutomu? I didn’t make any mistakes, right?” I declared to the group, and then focused my attention onto Tsutomu. He opened his mouth to respond, but was instantly interrupted by someone else’s voice. “What?” It was Eita, he sounded extremely confused. Tsutomu looked confused, too. Confused and nervous. “What do you mean ‘what’?” Tsutomu asked Eita anxiously. Eita tilted his head back slightly. “You were in the Gym?” He interrogated. “Y-Yeah…” Tsutomu answered nervously, intimidated by Eita’s piercing gaze. “At what time?” He persisted. “From 1:00AM to 2:00AM…” Tsutomu anxiously replied, fidgeting nervously as Eita continued to stare at him. “Then, that’s weird…” Eita pondered as he looked off to the side. “W-What’s weird?” Tsutomu asked, bewilderment dripping from his voice. Eita stared at him again with a cold and suspicious glare. “Because Ushijima and I were in the Gym from Midnight to 3:00AM, and we didn’t see you at all”

The whole room went silent and stared at Tsutomu. His body had completely frozen and his eyes were wide open with fear and staring at the floor in the centre of the ring of podiums. He looked like he couldn’t comprehend the words that had left Eita’s mouth. I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to suspect him. “Tsutomu… D-Did you lie to me…?” I asked meekly, afraid and already aware of the answer. Tsutomu flinched and looked at me with fear and guilt filled eyes. “I-I….I….” He could only stutter. His face contorted into a guilty grimace as everyone’s gazes burned into him. “So, you took the knife to kill him?” Yachi squeaked out, trying to deny that he had killed Ennoshita. Tsutomu gasped and rapidly spun to face Yachi. “N-No! I didn’t! I was scared, so I took the knife for self-defence!” He explained desperately as tears began to form in his eyes. His voice was shaking with terror with every word he spoke. “If it was just for self-defence… Then, why did you kill Chikara?” Nishinoya interrogated with an emotionless voice that was dripping with spite. Tsutomu grasped onto his sleeve, as the tears began spilling from his guilty eyes. “I… I don’t know… He came to see how I was, and then when he turned his back… Something just clicked in my mind, and I had pulled out the knife and attacked him before I could comprehend what was happening… I didn’t even realise what I was doing until his body went limp, and by then… It was too late….” Tsutomu had begun sobbing uncontrollably halfway through his statement.

Tsutomu had been facing the floor the entire time, but he lifted his head and stared directly at Nishinoya with tears still streaming down his face and his nose running wildly. “I’M SORRY!” He screamed out, regret clear in his voice. Nishinoya looked conflicted. He hated him for killing his friend, but he had to acknowledge the fact that he had never meant to murder anyone. Everyone fell silent in disgrace. Everyone felt the intense shame in the crushing atmosphere as it weighed down on the entire group. Then, once again, the silence was broken by that stomach-churning, sadistic voice. “Well done, kiddily-winks! You got it right again! Gold stars for everyone! Now… Let’s get started with the execution, shall we?” Tsutomu froze again. He knew this was coming, he was obviously trying to forget it. But, the fear and dread were evident on his face. “Sorry…” He whimpered out one last time. “Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punshiment for Shiratorizawa’s ace-wannabe, Goshiki Tsutomu! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiiiiiiit’s Punishment Time!”

[G A M E O V E R  
T S U T O M U H A S B E E N F O U N D G U I L T Y  
T H E P U N I S H M E N T W I L L N O W C O M M E N C E]

Chains wrapped themselves around Tsutomu’s body and harshly yanked him into the execution area. He was slammed into and bound to what was soon to become the cause of his death: A small rocket. There were fake eagle wings attached to the rocket, clearly intended to mock the Shiratorizawa school mascot. Concern was the only readable emotion on his face. He was clearly confused by the fact that Monokuma had managed to obtain a working rocket, but that was not the issue that he had. He glanced downward with terror-filled eyes as the rocket rumbled to life. The engine brutally ignited with fierce flames exploding from the bottom of the rocket and forcing it up into the air. The wind pressure roughly beating the breathe out of Tsutomu’s lungs. When the rocket reached a certain height, the engine instantly stopped. The chains binding Tsutomu to the rocket suddenly severed, releasing him from solid surface of the rocket into the air of absolutely nothing. It seemed like he had gone into slow motion as his body slowly curved and tilted downward as gravity took effect on him. He slowly reached his right arm upward with his hand outstretched, as if it were a final desperate plea for help. Then he plummeted to the ground. He kept falling. Faster and faster. Nothing to stop him. Nothing to slow him down. Nothing to save him. He kept rapidly getting closer and closer to the group, till he finally hit the ground with a grotesque, stomach-churning ‘splat’

His body was unrecognisable. It was barely a body anymore. It was just a torn and beaten lump of flesh, with gallons of blood gushing from it. I felt like I was going to throw up, but it never came. It was my entire body had shut down. I had stopped breathing and I couldn’t even blink. I just stood there, completely motionless. I heard someone behind collapse, and several tears of sheer disbelief and fright. “Yahoo~! Wow! That one was even more extreme than the first one! It got the adrenaline pumping!” Monokuma began his crazy ramblings once again. “Wasn’t that amazing, my dear students?!” He added in a ridiculously excited voice. Nobody gave him a response. We were all too shell shocked to even speak. “Hmph, fine. If you little Brats are gonna be rude, then you can just go straight to bed. Right now. Go!” Monokuma huffed, clearly sulking over the lack of attention. Everyone else began walking back towards the elevator, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t move at all. I heard voices calling me, but I couldn’t respond to them. I felt someone shake my shoulder, but I couldn’t look at them. My sight was glued to hunk of bright red, bloody meat that used to be Tsutomu. That used to be my friend. In the end, whoever it was that shook my shoulder just gave up trying to get my attention and slung me over their shoulder to carry me back to dorms.

They dropped me off in my room, and placed me gently on the floor. They muttered a gentle and quiet “Good night, Hinata” and carefully clicked the door shut. The moment the door clicked, my legs gave out and I crashed clumsily to the floor. I slammed the back of my head against the door as tears poured from my eyes against my will. There was nothing I could do to stop them, so I just let them fall. Fatigue slowly consumed me, and before I fell unconscious, I made pointless plea that was destined to be ignored and unheard.  
“Somebody, please save me”


	8. Chapter 3 - Disease, Death, and Despair - Daily Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After yet another traumatising trial, everyone has recover and investigate more unlocked rooms. But, how will they cope as the high tensions threaten to tear the group apart and turn them on each other? And, how are they going to cope with the new, painful Motive?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm finally back! I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, I've been ill a lot recently so I wanted to recover before continuing (Because my writing sucks when I'm ill) So, hopefully the fact that this chapter is a little longer than the others makes up for that long absence. Also, just a quick trigger warning: This chapter has a theme of diseases, as you could probably tell from the Chapter Title, there's not really anything too triggering, but I just wanted to give you all a quick warning, just in case this kind of thing makes you feel uncomfortable. I don't want anyone to feel uncomfortable while reading my stuff. So, yeah, Please enjoy the new chapter!!!

When I woke up, I was still on the floor. I sleepily sat myself up and wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth. I noticed that my cheek had the imprints of the carpet, suggesting that I had been sleeping for quite a while. I let out a loud yawn before finally pulling my body up off the floor. I leaned against the wall and rubbed my eyes as I thought back to what had happened yesterday. Tsutomu… I let out a shaky breathe as I thought about what he did and what happened to him. I hate this. Why do I have to do this? As I was thinking over the situation, I noticed how quiet it is. That made me feel anxious. I quickly checked the time on the clock hanging on the wall. It read 9:24AM. Crap! That’s why it’s so quiet! Everyone would already be in the Cafeteria by now! I hurriedly pulled my door open and jogged off to meet up with everyone else.

I slowed down as I reached the Cafeteria doors. “I’m sorry I’m late” I apologised as I entered the room. Everyone turned to stare at me. Daichi looked like he was gonna say something, but for some reason, stopped himself. Everyone just stared at me. This was making me feel uncomfortable… Why were they staring at me? Then, Yachi started giggling, quickly joined by the loud laughter of Tanaka and Nishinoya. Confused. That’s the only way to describe how I felt. Tsukishima must have noticed my bemused face as he said in between snickers “Y-You…Pfft… You look like Kuroo!” After hearing that, I quickly checked my reflection in one of the shiny vases, only to discover that I still had my bedhead. I really did look like Kuroo! My hair was standing upwards, with a small section hanging over my right eye. I couldn’t help but laugh myself. That’s when I had an idea. I put a mocking smirk on my face and smoothly swung my body around. “Oho ho ho~?” Everyone from Karasuno promptly burst out laughing, apart from Kageyama, who just sat there with a confused look on his face. Iwaizumi had an amused grin on his face. “I’m guessing this ‘Kuroo’ is one of your friends?” He asked with a slight chuckle. Stifling my own giggles, I responded. “Yeah, he’s the Captain of Nekoma, they’re an awesome team from Tokyo that we went to Training Camp with!” Everyone had at least a small smile on their faces, even the members of Shiratorizawa, except… Their smiles seemed a bit sad… But, that didn’t really surprise me.

Daichi gave a quick cough to calm his laughter and began to speak. “Anyway, Suga and I checked our E-Handbooks after the trial, and it seems that there are some more rooms that have been unlocked.” His announcement caused everyone to pull out their E-Handbooks, as Suga added to the announcement. “But, it doesn’t look like the Third Floor has been unlocked yet. It seems like it’s just the rest of the rooms on the Second Floor” As he finished that sentence, I had pulled up the map, and it appeared that he was right. The final few rooms on the Second Floor were open. “So… How are we gonna split up this time? There aren’t as many rooms to search this time…” Eita spoke up, raising a good point. Daichi pondered for a moment, and then responded. “Well, there’s twenty of us and four rooms to explore… So, let’s split up into groups of five, okay?” Everyone agreed with him instantly.

The groups were finally decided and we began our journey up the stairs to the Second Floor. My group, including me, was the five First Years from Karasuno. “Okay, so my group will check the Photography Room, Ushijima’s group will check the Art Room, Iwaizumi’s group will check the Storage Room, and Tsukishima’s group will check the Chemistry Lab. After we’ve finished our investigations, we’ll meet up and report our findings in the Cafeteria, like usual. Is that okay with everyone?” Daichi declared. Everyone responded with a chorus of agreements. Tsukishima just simply nodded and then instantly began walking off towards the Chemistry Lab. “Ah! Wait up, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi called out to him in surprise as he quickly jogged after him. “Tch… Why do we get stuck with the pushy bastard?” Kageyama complained with an irritated scowl on his face as we began walking after them. “N-Now now, Kageyama-Kun…” Yachi nervously tried to calm him down. I just breathed out a small chuckle. I noticed that Kageyama was glancing at me from the corner of my eye. “W-What?” I asked him. He flinched slightly, almost as if he was surprised that I had noticed him staring. His eyebrows curved upwards as his face contorted into a worried frown. “I was just wondering if you’re okay… You’ve got some pretty big bags under your eyes, and you’re paler than usual…” He muttered in an awkward tone. His comment caused Yachi to quickly examine my face. “He’s right, are you okay, Hinata-Kun?” She commented as she placed her hand on my forehead to check my temperature. I was not okay. I was traumatised. I was terrified. I was sick of this situation. But, I didn’t want to worry them… So, I lied. I put the brightest smile I could make onto my face, and I lied to them. “Yeah, I’m fine! Don’t worry about it! I’m great!” Yachi let out a relieved sigh. “Okay, if you say so” She said with a sweet smile. But, Kageyama… He looked at me with a troubled face. A face that said “I know you’re lying” but he didn’t say anything. He just sighed, nodded, muttered out an “Alright” and carried on walking until we caught up to Tsukishima and Yamaguchi.

Tsukishima halted when he reached the door then began impatiently tapping his foot as a signal to us to hurry up. This caused Kageyama to scowl again, so I quickly jogged off towards Tsukishima before an argument kicked off. As everyone arrived and gathered around the door, Tsukishima huffed out an irritated “Finally” before pushing the door open and entering the Chemistry Lab. It was a lot bigger than I had anticipated it to be! It was huge! The wall on the far side couldn’t even be labelled as a wall, it was entirely full of shelves. And each shelf was completely stacked with thousands of bottles full of brightly coloured chemicals. Yamaguchi pointed at the top of the shelves and mentioned a detail that he had noticed. “There’s some signs over the different sections, do they mean something?” I directed my attention to the signs he was talking about. There were three: Section A, Section B, and Section C. Hmmm… What DID they mean? Tsukishima scanned his eyes across the room to see if there was anything that could explain these ‘sections’ and seemed to have notice something, since he widened his eyes slightly and wandered towards the teacher’s desk. There was a small poster taped to the wall next to it. His leant down slightly to get a closer look. “The sections are dividing the chemicals based on their types.” He summarised the contents of the poster. “What are the different types?” I asked curiously. Tsukishima pushed his glasses up, then read over the poster again. “Section A contains dietary supplements, Section B contains reagents, and Section C contains lethal chemicals…” Tsukishima listed them off, but his voice wavered a bit as he said the words ‘lethal chemicals’ Everyone tensed up a bit. “U-Um… Maybe we shouldn’t describe the details of the chemicals to everyone…” Yamaguchi suggested in a nervous voice. Everyone stopped and stared at him. “Why is that?” Yachi asked, unease clearly noticeable in her voice. “W-Well, there’s been two murders… Karasuno members both times… What if someone tries to kill us with these chemicals?” Yamaguchi explained in a shaky voice. “I agree with Yamaguchi” Tsukishima stated in a stern voice as he stood up straight and placed his hand on his hip. “B-But that’s-” Yachi had begun to protest, but Tsukishima interrupted her. “Face it, we can’t trust anyone in this situation. At some point, someone’s gonna get desperate and they’re gonna kill. You need to be suspicious of everyone if you want to survive” He had a serious frown on his face as he explained this Yachi, and to Kageyama and I, too. “But, the others deserve to know about this too!” Yachi exclaimed. Tsukishima let out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. How about this? We’ll put it to a majority vote. I vote that we don’t tell the others” He suggested. “I vote not to, as well” Yamaguchi chimed in. “I vote that we do tell the others!” Yachi declared. “I vote that we tell the others, too. Yachi-San’s right, they deserve to know” Kageyama stated, as he glared at Tsukishima.

I hated this. They were just doing what Monokuma wanted them to do. He wanted to tear the group apart and pit everyone against each other. He wanted us to be at each other’s throats. He wanted us to be divided. But, at the same time, Tsukishima was right… If we were too trusting of each other, we were going to die. I felt like I was being torn in two. I just didn’t know what to think… “Well, Shortstack? What do you think we should do?” Tsukishima asked in a bland voice, pulling me out of my suffocating thoughts. Everyone was staring at me, expectantly. “I… I vote… I vote not to tell them” I muttered out as I averted my gaze to the floor in shame. “And there you have it” Tsukishima said haughtily. “What the hell, Hinata?!” Kageyama yelled as he grabbed onto my collar and pulled me towards him. “What the hell are you thinking?!” I grimaced as he continued shouting at me. “But… Tsukishima’s right… I… I don’t know what else to do… What am I supposed to do?” I whimpered as guilt continued to consume me. “So, you’re just gonna throw everyone else under the bus just so you can stay safe?! You’re just gonna run away?!” Kageyama bellowed in anger as he shook me violently. Yachi tried to calm him down but failed. “I-I’m scared, okay?!” I shrieked as tears threatened to spill from my eyes. That seemed to cause Kageyama to snap, as he threw me to the ground with full force. My head crashed onto the desk beside me as I collapsed to the ground and my vision turned slightly blurry. A stunned silence filled the room. I gingerly lifted my arm and pressed my hands against the back of my head, which was throbbing with pain. Yachi and Yamaguchi has frightened faces, while Tsukishima looked surprised. I looked up at Kageyama with wide eyes, as tears had begun to flow down my cheeks. He looked surprised himself as he shifted his gaze from me, to the hand he threw me with, then back to me. “Well, looks like we can’t even trust you, King” Tsukishima spoke up, breaking the silence and pulling everyone back into reality. Kageyama flinched at his words as he whirled his head around to face the others and then back at me. He looked absolutely mortified. He tried to form words, but they never left his mouth. He took a single step towards me. The loud sound of his shoe hitting the floor released all of the fear I was feeling. Tsukishima was right. I couldn’t trust him. He hurt me, he could… Kill me… I flinched away from him, which seemed to shock him. “H-Hinata?” He said my name as he reached his arm out towards me, scaring me further. I was terrified of him. I quickly scrambled to my feet and ran out of the room and away as fast as my legs could carry me.

I ended running into the Boys’ Bathroom on the Second Floor and locked myself in one of the cubicles. I curled up into a small ball as my body was racked by scared sobs. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t even trust my best friend anymore… My thoughts were fuzzier than usual, thanks to the painful throbbing on the back of my head. The pain kept pulsing through my head, making me feel dizzy with each and every pulse. I kept gasping through my tears, trying to catch my breath, but failing each time. I closed my eyes and tried to slow my breathing. I kept on choking on my tears and gasping to catch my breath, but it was gradually getting slower. 

After about an hour, I heard people calling out my name. I chose to ignore them and stayed in the cubicle. I couldn’t bring myself to face Kageyama. Even if I was able to slow my breathing, I was still terrified of him. I buried my face in my knees which I was hugging into my chest, until I heard a softer voice calling me as they entered the Bathroom. “Hinata? Are you in here?” I recognised the voice as Sugawara’s, but I still didn’t respond. I just sat there, hoping that he’d leave. His footsteps kept gradually getting closer, until they stopped just outside my cubicle’s door. I heard him let out a soft, relieved sigh before he spoke up. “Hinata, I know you’re in there. The door wouldn’t be locked if you weren’t” I frowned a bit at his words, but still didn’t say anything. “It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you. Just let me in, so we can talk about this, okay?” Suga continued in a sweet, soothing voice. I sighed, reached up and unlocked the door. Suga carefully, slowly and gently pushed the door open to find me curled up on the floor. He gave a sad smile at my tear-stained face before crouching down and gingerly pulling me into a hug. He then began to softly ruffle my hair as he comforted me. “It’s okay… It was just an accident… Tensions are high, you know? It’s hard to stay calm in these situations. Kageyama’s worried about you, and so is everyone else. Just remember that we’re all right here for you and we all feel exactly the same way.” He gently whispered those words of encouragement into my ear, soothing my worries slightly. I buried my face into his shoulder as he murmured “It’s okay” over and over again. We stayed like that for a few minutes until Suga finally said “Should we go back to the others now?” in a quiet, caring tone. I uttered a hushed “Yeah” in response as we both slowly stood up together. Suga delicately wiped the remainder of my tears away, then placed his arm around, rubbing my shoulder to comfort me as we began our walk back to the Cafeteria.

“I found him, guys” Suga announced to everyone as we stepped through the door. I had averted my gaze to the side to avoid making eye contact with any of the people who were now staring at me. “Let’s go sit down, ‘kay, Hinata?” Suga whispered to me. I simply nodded in response as he gently pushed me towards the seats near Kiyoko and Iwaizumi. After we sat down, Daichi spoke up. “So, I’ll start off the reports. My group, which consisted of Me, Suga, Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Kiyoko, were investigating the Photography Room. There wasn’t a lot to be found in there. There was simply quite a few cameras and some cupboards full of spare parts to repair them. There was also a drawer full of spare film for the cameras. And another drawer full of containers of the chemicals used for producing photos. There was also another door at the back of the room, but it just lead to the Storage Room.” He was right, not a lot really sounded important about the Photography Room. The next person who spoke up was Iwaizumi. “Okay, well, my group, which was me, Matsukawa, Hanamaki, Yahaba, and Kyoutani, investigated the Storage Room that Sawamura just mentioned. There are two entrances to the Storage Room: One in the Photography Room, and one in the Art Room. Like the Photography Room, there wasn’t really a lot in there. There was just loads of spare Art and Photography supplies, like paper, paints, clay, spare camera parts, and a few tools that are used for Sculpting. There was also a ladder to reach the higher shelves, but I don’t really see how it’s important” Again, not a lot really sounded important, but I was sceptical about the safety of the sculpting tools, so I took a mental note of those. As Iwaizumi sat down, he quickly glanced at me and mouth “You okay?” I gave a small nod in response and he smiled in relief. Then, it was Ushijima’s turn to report his group’s findings. “My group, which consisted of Me, Tendou, Eita, Shirabu, and Michimiya, were investigating the Art Room. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in there, either. There were simply many cupboards filled with art supplies. Some could be considered dangerous, but other than those, there wasn’t much worth reporting.” Everyone fell awkwardly silent, slightly uncomfortable because of how blunt and emotionless Ushijima’s report was. “Uh… Okay, so, uh, Tsukishima? What did your group find?” Daichi stiffly moved on. “…Right. My group, which consisted of Me, Yamaguchi, Yachi, Hinata, and… Him, investigated the Chemistry Lab” As he spat out the word “Him” he directed a disgusted look towards Kageyama, who glared back at Tsukishima. The tension made me feel sick, but Tsukishima continued “There were a large amount of different chemicals, multiple Bunsen burners, drawers full of equipment used in experiments, and a small closet full of lab coats and goggles. That’s about all we found” Kageyama glared at Tsukishima even harder after he left out any details about the chemicals. The room fell silent once again. “So, once again, we’ve found no way to get out…” Shirabu stated in a dejected voice.

He was right. We’ve searched two whole floors, but we haven’t found a single way to escape… “Pretty much, and to top it off, we’ve got some of our own going crazy!” Satori added in a slightly mocking tone. His comment caused everyone to direct their attention to Kageyama, who looked frightened and confused. Suga shot out of his seat and was about to defend Kageyama, but was interrupted by a sudden voice emitting from the monitor. “Hello there, Little Children! It seems that your investigations are finished… So, get your butts in gear and come over to the Gymnasium! Right now!” This was the last thing I needed right now… I sighed as I stood up and began to walk towards the Gym. Everyone else did the same, much to their disgust. Yamaguchi came up to me and subtly whispered “Is your head doing okay?” I nodded. “Yeah, there’s just a bit of a bump there, that’s all” He sighed in relief and gave me soft smile. Tsukishima also caught up to us, then leaned over to me “Careful. I keep catching him staring at you…” He warned me in a low voice. I didn’t want to look and I didn’t need to, ‘cause I already knew who he was talking about. I just averted my gaze and carried on walking, trying to bury the dread of what Monokuma could possibly want.

“Ah, so you little shits finally decided to show up, huh?” The plushie called out as everyone filed into the Gym. I just frowned worriedly, as dread slowly began to consume me. Monokuma gathering us for an announcement never means anything good to happen. It never occurred to me, but just who the hell decided to control a teddy bear and force teenagers to kill each other. What kind of sadistic, psychotic asshole gets their entertainment from our suffering? “The hell do you want this time?” Yahaba snarled at the monochrome teddy. “Well, I’m glad you asked! I did something last night while all of you were sleeping, and it should be taking affect any moment… Now” The instant he finished that sentence, pain erupted through my entire body, causing me to choke and fall to my knees, as did many of the others. Monokuma laughed as we writhed in agony on the floor. “W-What the fuck… is this…?” Eita gasped out. “Hehehe, well, you see… While all of you were asleep, I injected all of you with a nameless disease that will kill you in three days… That’s all, really” Monokuma explained in an innocent voice. “W-What?!” Tanaka yelled out as loud as he could. Monokuma ignored him and carried on. “Soooooo… If you guys wanna live, you’re gonna have to kill someone within three days… Also, yes, today does count as a day, so you’ve technically only got two days left! And I solemnly swear that as soon as someone is murdered and their body is discovered, I will give everyone a vile of the antidote to the disease!” I gasped and pulled my body up into a crouching position as the pain subsided slightly. My breathing was heavy and sweat was pouring down my face. “Ooooh! Looks like you kids are really feeling it already! Horrible, isn’t it? Well, if you want the pain to stop, you’re gonna need to kill someone! Also, two other things that I should probably mention are: 1) The pain will subside at times, but it will also be worse at times, and 2) Some of you will have a weaker resistance to the disease. You won’t die any sooner than anyone else, but you will suffer a hell of a lot more than the others!” Everyone groaned as pain pulsed through our bodies again. Monokuma laughed again at our suffering. “Well, I’ve told you guys everything you need to know sooooo….. Get lost!!!” He exclaimed at he jumped down from the podium and disappeared. I grimaced in pain again and began panting for air as I agonizingly pulled my body up into a standing position. I scanned the room and saw everyone suffering. The sight was heart-breaking. I shook my head and squeezed my eyes shut as I began to stagger off to my dorm room. It took me much longer than usual to get back, and as soon as I finally reached my room, I simply collapsed onto the bed and drifted into an excruciating sleep.

The instant I woke up, I was in agony. It hurt so much. Pain kept pulsing through my whole body and it was hard to breathe. I gruellingly pushed myself up and tried to carefully get off the bed. However, another wave of pain washed over me, causing my elbow to buckle, and me to fall off the bed and crash onto the floor in an agonising heap. It took all of strength to pull myself off the floor and walk towards my door. I took a break and leant against the doorframe, wheezing from the lack of air in my lungs. My forehead was drenched in sweat. I gave one large final gulp of air then began slowly shuffle off to the Cafeteria, dragging my feet with every hurtful step.

I had to grab onto the doorway as I entered to prevent myself from collapsing. I couldn’t even muster up the strength to greet everyone, or at least, everyone who had been able to drag themselves to the Cafeteria. I heaved my body forward and quickly staggered towards a chair so I could rest my body. After catching my breath, I analysed everyone in the room. They didn’t seem to be doing much than I was. Everyone was either slouching down in their chairs or resting their heads on the tables in front of them, nobody speaking a single word. We all sat in silence for about half an hour, with a few more people arriving and joining us in our silent suffering. Suddenly the silence was shattered… By me. Pain erupted from my chest and caused me to start having a choking fit. Everyone stared at me with pained, worried faces as I bent double in pain. I kept coughing and spluttering breathlessly until bright red spewed from my mouth. Blood. I was coughing up blood. I couldn’t stop coughing, it hurt so much, but I couldn’t stop it. Everyone rushed over to me as fast as they could to help me. “H-Help…” I gasped out a desperate plea as stray drops of blood flowed down my chin, staining my skin as it slid down. As my lungs failed to take in Oxygen, my vision became blurry and I collapsed from the chair I was sat on and crashed onto the floor with a loud bang. The last thing I saw was Daichi, Kiyoko, and Iwaizumi leaning over me, calling out words I couldn’t hear, before my vision faded into a pure, pitch black.

I woke up to a dull throbbing pain. I let my vision fade back into focus before I took in my surroundings. I was back in my room. This made me feel unbelievably guilty, because this meant that someone had carried me back here, while they were also in crippling pain… I carefully pushed myself up into a sitting position, then noticed two bodies leaning onto my bed, both of which began to stir when they felt me move. After they lifted their heads, I noticed that these two people were Yachi and Kageyama. When they noticed I was awake, they both gasped and flung their arms around me, pulling me into a sudden, soothing hug. “Oh, thank god… You’re okay…” Kageyama breathed out in a shaky sigh. “W-We thought you’d died…” Yachi wailed out, trying to hold back her tears. I awkwardly wrapped my arms around them and gently patted their backs. “I-I’m fine” I muttered out a simple response as they slowly released me from their hold. Yachi had a relieved smile on her face whereas Kageyama looked like a sorrowful, guilty puppy, looking at me with concern-filled eyes. I gave him a small, understanding smile. “It’s okay… I forgive you. It wasn’t your fault” I told him in a quiet voice. His eyes widened in surprise, then scrunched up again as they appeared to become quite wet. “Uh… Kageyama… Are you crying?” I questioned cautiously. “No, I’m not!” He denied, but I had a feeling he was lying. “U-Um, by the way, what time is it?” I asked anxiously, suddenly remembering our time limit. Yachi frowned as she replied. “10:00AM” Dread flooded my body. “I-I’ve been unconscious for a day?!” I screeched out. “Y-Yes… It seems like you’re one of the people with a weaker resistance to the disease…” Yachi whimpered out in an apprehensive voice. A sense of unease weighed down on us as we thought about our inevitable deaths due at the end of today.

“We should do something to take our minds off of this…” Kageyama suggested. “Yeah… You’re right…” I agreed shakily. “Why don’t we check out the Art Room? Whenever I’m feeling nervous or sad, I usually create something to let my feelings out” Yachi offered. Kageyama and I looked at each other for the other’s opinion, to see that we both agreed. “Yeah, that sounds nice. Let’s do that” I said in a soothing voice, in an attempt to raise Yachi’s spirits. I tried to get out of bed so we could start walking over to the Art Room, but promptly fell out, due to my lack of strength. Luckily, Kageyama managed to catch me before I hit the floor. “Maybe I should carry you to the Art Room…?” He pondered out loud. “Yes, that’s probably a good idea, especially since Hinata’s a bit weaker than us, at the moment” Yachi agreed with his idea. “Ah! No, no! You don’t need to do that! I’m fine!” I declined anxiously. I didn’t want to bother anyone else with my personal problems. “Too bad, I’m doing it” Kageyama insisted bluntly, as he bent down and pulled onto his back, forcing me to receive a piggy back from him. I grunted in embarrassment as Yachi giggled at us, and with that, we were off. Luckily, we didn’t bump into anyone else on our way, so nobody saw me in that… Ridiculous state. Once we had reached the top of the Second Floor stairs, I insisted that I could walk the rest of the way by myself. But, even then, the two of them stuck close to me, just in case I collapsed again. Once we reached the door, I took a quick break to correct my breathing, and then swung open the door.

Although, we were greeted by a sight we had not expected to see. A body lying on the floor in the middle of the room. Their eyes were half-hidden and dull. Their eyebrows were scrunched together and curving upwards in fear and despair. Their mouth was open and drooping lopsidedly to the left, saliva and froth leaking from the corners of their mouth. Large, harsh-looking violet bruises covered their neck. The three of us had stumbled upon the strangled body of Semi Eita. Yachi and I let out terrified shrieks and Kageyama gasped in fear. And then that dreaded announcement sounded out.

“Bing Bong! Bing Bong! A body has been discovered! After a brief investigation period, we will commence with the class trial!”

“Oh god… Not again…” I whispered out in disbelief. “What the hell…?” Kageyama muttered with a pained scowl on his face. I gingerly stepped towards the, now lifeless, body of Eita. I shakily turned my head around to look back at Kageyama. “I-It’s a lie… Right?” I squeaked out in a pathetic voice as tears filled my eyes. Kageyama didn’t respond. He just looked at the floor with an anguished look on his face. While we were trying to deny the harsh reality that was right in front of us, Yachi had stumbled over to the door to the Storage Room and accidently fell through it. Kageyama and I quickly shifted our attention to her. “Yachi…? Are you okay?” I cautiously called out to her. There was a tense pause before we heard her voice again. “G-Guys…? C-Could you come over here… Please?” Her voice was shaky and fearful. Kageyama and I shot each other concerned looks as we walked over to Yachi, to see what had shaken her up so much. We were greeted with yet another unexpected sight. 

Another body. This one’s eyes were wide open in terror. Their mouth was also wide open, as if they had been screaming as they died. Their skin was pale, so scarily pale. It was as if all of the colour had been drained from their face. Their neck had been slashed open with single deep crimson gash. The bright red glaringly contrasting the pure white of their skin. A pool of blood had formed underneath their head and shoulders, staining some of their hair. We were staring at the body of Kenjirou Shirabu.

“Bing Bong! Bing Bong! A body has been discovered! After a brief investigation period, we will commence with the class trial!”


	9. Not a chapter, sorry

Hey guys, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in such a long time.  
Basically, I don't know why, but my internet server blocked AO3 about a week after I uploaded the previous chapter, and I couldn't find any way to unblock it, and then randomly today, I can log onto AO3 again?  
I honestly have no idea why this happened, but I really hope that it doesn't happen again.

Also, I'm not sure if I'll update any time soon, 'cause I'm invested in other fandoms atm, but I have a feeling that I'll become enchanted with Dangan Ronpa again once V3's localisation is released, and all I really need to do to fall back in love with Haikyuu is rewatch or reread it, so who knows? I do plan on continuing with the story, since I have the basics on the entire story already planned out, it's just a matter of when.

I've also been planning some other fics, so I might upload them some time, but I don't know if I'll upload them while I'm still working on this fic, or if I'll wait until I've finished this fic, so, yeah, I honestly have no idea???

I'm so sorry for not updating for so long, and I really hope you guys understand, and thank you so much for all of the kudos you guys gave the fic while I couldn't log on (I got emails about them, and I was delighted)

So, yeah, I'M BACK


	10. Chapter 3 - Disease, Death and Despair - Deadly Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another student has murdered, however this time, there are two victims. While the students are now safe from the disease Monokuma afflicted them with, they now have to uncover the killer, so they can escape death once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess what useless piece of shit finally managed to complete another chapter.  
> I'm so sorry that it took so long... School's just draining my energy so much, I honestly can't really motivate myself to write as much as I used to...  
> I'll try to update as frequently as possible, but I don't know how frequently that is.  
> Sorry.  
> 

“W-What the hell’s going on…?” Kageyama breathed out in confusion and disbelief. I didn’t know how to respond, I couldn’t understand our discovery either. Yachi had begun to slowly topple over, but was quickly caught by Kageyama and I before she hit the floor.  
“Y-Yachi-San! A-Are you okay?!” I gasped out, concern clear in my voice. Yachi’s face was sickly pale and displayed a weak expression. She gingerly lifted her arm and pressed her hand to her forehead.  
“I-I’m sorry… I-I just feel… Kinda light-headed” She whispered in a barely audible voice.  
“I-It’s okay… Um, do you wanna… Sit outside for a while?” Kageyama awkwardly suggested, trying his best to comfort the distressed Yachi. Yachi didn’t say anything, she just meekly nodded. I looked up at Kageyama, and he returned my gaze, we both nodded as we gently lifted Yachi up and began to help her walk towards the door. It was difficult to walk, due to the fact that we were still under the effect of the disease. Pain kept pulsing through my chest, but I tried my best to ignore it, for Yachi’s sake. Kageyama must have noticed me wince in pain, as he shot me a worried glance. As we finally reached the hallway outside of the Art Room and began slowly helping Yachi to the floor, everyone else was arriving. Kiyoko shoved her way through the group and worriedly crouched in front of Yachi and gently pressed the back of her hand onto Yachi’s forehead.  
“Hitoka-Chan, are you all right? You’re not hurt, are you?” Kiyoko asked in gentle, yet worried voice. Yachi didn’t say anything, she just took some deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down.  
“She’s fine, just a little faint from discovering the bodies” I explained, my voice sounding a little shaken.  
“Wait, what did you say? ‘Bodies’? Don’t you just mean ‘body’?” Satori questioned carefully, leaning towards me in an unsettling manner. I gulped in a deep breath of air as I prepared to answer, but Kageyama answered for me.  
“No, he meant ‘bodies’. Two people have been murdered this time…” He explained in a dejected voice as he averted his gaze from the group. I glanced up at them to see their reactions. Shock. Fear. Those were the only emotions that I could register.  
“W-What?” Suga whimpered out. Anxiety was clearly displayed on his face as his eyes widened and his eyebrows formed a crease in his forehead. His body was shaking violently as the realisation hit him.  
“W-Wait a second! What if the murderer kills someone else?!” Yui squeaked out quickly. Everyone froze and stared at her. Then, panic spread throughout the entire group, with everyone mumbling worriedly under their breath, and checking each other out. The fear that consumed me was so overwhelming that I nearly collapsed next to Yachi. I carefully placed my hand onto the wall to keep myself standing upright, as I directed my attention towards the rest of the group. I couldn’t believe that someone among us had killed two people… Well, it was more like that I didn’t want to believe it. I jumped as someone placed their hand onto my shoulder.  
“K-Kageyama…?” I quietly whimpered as I turned to look at him. His face looked worried and as if he was in pain. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t find the words to say, and closed it again. He bit his lip anxiously as he averted his gaze from me. He opened his mouth again, then grimaced as he closed it again. I lightly patted his arm to let him know that it was okay for him to say whatever he had to say. He took a long, deep breath and finally spoke.  
“Y-You’re not… Scared of me, are you? You don’t think that I did it… Right?” His voice sounded weak and feeble. It hurt me to hear him ask those things. Did he really think that I suspected him? Did he think that was still scared of him for accidently hurting me? I just stared at him with a pitiful expression.  
“No… I don’t. I’m not scared of you, and there’s no way that you killed them. I trust you, Kageyama” I spoke as clearly and confidently as I could, staring right into Kageyama’s eyes. He looked like a little child. He looked at me with eyes full of relief, surprise, and gratitude. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn that I saw his eyes watering. Ah. My face began to slowly flush a bright red as I noticed that everyone was staring at us. Great. They heard everything that I just said. Kageyama noticed my unimpressed and flushed face and glanced over his shoulder to see what I was looking at. He also turned bright red and glared in a different direction to hide his embarrassment.  
“Y’know what, Hinata? You’re right. We shouldn’t be doubting each other right now, we should be trusting each other. It’ll make our investigations much easier!” Suga spoke up with a gentle and almost proud smile on his face. His comment made my face flush an even brighter red. Everyone glanced at each other until a far too familiar voice broke the silence.

“Awwwwwww! But that’d be so boooorriiiiinnnggg!” It whined annoyingly. Everyone turned to glare at the irritating source of the unwanted voice.  
“What the fuck do you want now?” Tanaka huffed, clearly fed up with the annoying stuffed toy. Monokuma simply shrugged in a mocking manner.  
“Wooooooow, how rude… And here I was to give you guys the antidote, cause one of you was smart enough to murder…” He hummed sarcastically. Everyone froze at those words. Antidote? Did that mean that we’d be saved?  
“I-I’m terribly sorry! Please give us the antidote!” Tanaka hastily apologised. I could tell by the look on his face that he was apologising for everyone else’s sake.  
“Weeeellllll…. Okay then, but only because you apologised so politely” Monokuma responded playfully as he handed out vials of the antidote to everyone. Everyone quickly thanked him, so he wouldn’t suddenly change his mind and take them away. As I drank the antidote, the disgusting taste spread throughout my entire mouth and slid down my throat. I grimaced at the taste, but that grimace slowly changed as I instantly felt the pain fade. My eyes widened at the speed that the antidote worked, but I was grateful that my suffering had finally stopped. Everyone else was letting out their own sighs of relief while Monokuma silently watched us with that sadistic, unnerving smile of his.  
“Now then, you’re all feeling better now, yes? Well, time to get on with the investigation! Don’t worry, I’ll give you some extra time for this investigation because of the double murder!” The plush announced nonchalantly. Everyone stopped and stared at him with worried faces.  
“B-But, wait a minute… What if the killer tries to kill us while we’re investigating? They’ve already killed two people, what’s gonna stop them from killing more?” Yui nervously voiced her concerns to the teddy bear. Monokuma crossed his stubby little arms and nodded.  
“I see, I see, I understand your concern, but that’s not gonna happen!” Monokuma declared as he pulled out an e-handbook and then continued. “You see? There’s a rule: No more than two murders are allowed to occur within 24 hours. So you’re all safe! Have fun investigating!” And with those final few words, he was gone. Just like that. Everyone nervously glanced at each other, before nodding and walking off in little groups to start their investigating.  
I didn’t really know what to do… I knew that the bodies would probably provide the most information, so I headed back into the art room. Sugawara and Hanamaki were already investigating Eita’s body, and Ushijima and Satori were stood next to them. Ushijima had his eyes closed, but a troubled expression was clear on his face. Satori was kneeling down next to Eita’s head, gently poking his cheek.  
“So… Semi-Semi’s really not gonna wake up, huh?” Satori pondered in a dejected voice. His eyebrows curved together as he poked Eita’s cheek again.  
“He didn’t even react, let alone scold me, when I called him ‘Semi-Semi’…” Satoru trailed off as his voice got quieter. He glanced towards Ushijima, seemingly waiting for his response. Ushijima let out a pained sigh as he began to walk away.  
“I’m going to pay my respects to Shirabu” He stated simply, not making eye contact with any of us. The frown on his face displayed how hurt he was by losing two more of his teammates, so we decided it was probably best if we left him alone for a while. Satori took one last glance at Eita before standing up and walking towards the hallway door.  
“Sorry, I need to have some time to myself” He croaked out as he stepped through the door and disappeared from our sight. I couldn’t help but sadly frown at his reaction, but I knew that I should leave him alone and let him think things through. I turned my attention back to the investigation, but before actually analysing the body, I checked both Monokuma Files for the basic information of both the murders.

[Monokuma File No.4  
Victim – Semi Eita, Shiratorizawa, Third Year  
Location – Art Room, Second Floor  
Cause of Death – Crushed windpipe due to strangulation, large hand-shaped bruises are located on his neck, there is also a small graze on the back of the victim’s head. The approximate time of death is 1:30AM]

I couldn’t help but gulp and gingerly place my hand on my neck as I read the cause of death. I was terrified by the fact that someone among us was strong enough to crush someone’s windpipe. Although, it did help to narrow down the possible suspects for the murders, as it had to be someone with a lot of upper body strength. I started to ponder the people who would be capable of doing such a thing, but I quickly stopped myself. It was probably a better idea to keep an open mind while investigating, so my thoughts wouldn’t end up biased. After composing myself again, I noticed the number. 4? Then where’s no. 3? Could the other Monokuma File be no.3? To check and see if I was correct, I read through the second Monokuma File.

[Monokuma File No. 3  
Victim – Kenjirou Shirabu, Shiratorizawa, Second Year  
Location – Storage Room, Second Floor  
Cause of Death – Loss of blood caused by slit throat, a large bruise is located on his right wrist. The approximate time of death is 1:25AM]

I was right. This one was no.3. Although, the main thing that caught my attention was the time of death. Shirabu died at 1:25AM, and Eita died at 1:30AM… How is that even possible? There’s no way that one person could kill two people in five minutes… right? Kageyama seemed to thinking the exact same thing as he had a troubled look on his face. Yachi seemed to notice our confusion, as she quickly spoke up.  
“Why don’t we just examine the bodies and see if we can learn anything new. Maybe it’ll explain how they both died in such a short amount of time.” Kageyama and I turned our attention to her. It just didn’t sound right, Yachi suggesting to examine a dead body. Yachi was always so easily scared, yet here she is, being forced to deal with people she knows killing each other. It wasn’t fair. It was cruel. It was sick. It was just evil. Why should such a lovely girl be forced to go through this nightmare? I tried my best to hide my anger at the Mastermind, so I didn’t worry Yachi even more, and responded as calmly as I could.  
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get this over with.” I hated to admit it, but I was actually getting kinda used to it. This was the third time I had to examine a dead body, and while it was still horrible, I was nowhere near as shaken as I was when I examined Asahi’s body. It hurt to think about Asahi, even though it wasn’t even a week ago, it feels like it’s been months. I miss him. It’s just not the same. Although, I bet everyone feels exactly the same way, so I need to stop being so selfish and help solve these murders, I need to help everyone survive. And with that thought in mind, I put my hands together in a small prayer for Eita, and began the examination.

It was honestly terrifying looking his eyes, they were half lidden and exhausted. Eita clearly tried to fight against his killer, but his body couldn’t handle the lack of oxygen, and he eventually lost. The first area I examined was his neck. There were two huge, disgusting purple bruises covering the entirety of it, and there was a slight, barely noticeable dent where his Adam’s apple should be. I unconsciously gulped again. The thought of someone doing this with their bare hands was terrifying. Although, when I got a closer look at the bruises, I realized that they may be able to help us track down the killer.  
“The bruises are really big, so the killer must have large hands, right? So, we’d be able to exclude everyone with hands smaller than the bruises, right?” I asked carefully, unsure of my own theory.  
“Not necessarily, bruises can expand from the size of the injury, if the skin surrounding the injury was also injured. Although, it works to an extent, so people with hand sizes much smaller than the injury, like the two of you, can be dismissed, whereas people with hand sizes slightly smaller than the bruises can’t.” Kageyama explained bluntly. Yachi and I just sat there and stared at him. “…The hell are you looking at?” Kageyama grunted, slightly confused.  
“Y’know, that’s the first time that you haven’t dismissed my idea as stupid and called me a dumbass.” I explained to him with a slight grin. He instantly scowled and blushed.  
“Shut up, dumbass! You brought up a reasonable point and I explained it! Maybe I’d stop calling you a dumbass if you stopped being a dumbass!” He yelled, obviously slightly pissed off by my comment. I see that his insult repertoire is as limited as it’s always been. After giggling at his sudden anger, I suddenly remembered another detail from the Monokuma File.  
“Wait, didn’t the Monokuma File say that Eita had a graze on the back of his head, too?” I spoke up. Yachi quickly checked her E-Handbook, and then gave a quick nod to confirm my statement. Kageyama and I looked up at each other and nodded. Without a word, we both gently picked up Eita’s body and carefully flipped it over, so he was lying on his stomach. And there was the graze, on the back of his head. It was small and not very deep, but it was large enough to leave a tiny bloodstain on the floor, where his head had been.  
“Wait, look at his shirt, was it always like that?” Yachi spoke up, pointing to the area she wanted us to focus our attention. The collar of his shirt. The back of it had a few rips on it, and seemed to be much looser than the rest of his shirt.  
“Weird, did someone grab it or something?” I muttered, mostly to myself, partially to the others. I didn’t get a reply though. Kageyama and Yachi both stared at the damaged shirt with confused scowls on their faces, as if they were trying to make sense of it. I understood how they felt, but it seemed like we weren’t going to learn anything else from Eita’s body. “Maybe we should go and examine Shirabu now?” I suggested, pulling the two of them out of their thoughts. They both silently nodded, and we made our way over to the Storage Room.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Hand Shaped Bruises – The hand shaped bruises located on Eita’s neck are extremely large, meaning the killer must have large hands  
Graze On Back Of Head – The victim had a small graze on the back of their head. Where did this injury come from? Did the victim hit their head on something?  
Ripped Shirt – The collar on the back of the victim’s shirt is ripped and incredibly loose. Did someone pull it?]

As we entered the Storage Room, we found Ushijima and Yui in there already, although they weren’t examining the body, they were examining the surrounding areas of the room. Ushijima was checking the areas that were higher up, whereas Yui was checking the areas closer to the floor. “Um, what exactly are you doing?” I asked. Both turned around to focus on me as they answered my question.  
“The Monokuma File said that Shirabu had his throat slit, however that would be impossible for the killer to accomplish without some sort of blade” Ushijima stated simply.  
“Yeah, but we can’t find any kind of weapon like that near the body, so we’re checking the entire room, just in case the killer tried to hide it or something” Yui added, before focusing her attention back on the drawer she was searching.  
“That sounds like a good idea. Hinata, Kageyama, could you two examine the body? I’ll help these two search for the murder weapon.” Yachi suddenly spoke up, her voice full of determination. Kageyama and I both stared at her in stunned silence before composing ourselves and nodding in confirmation. Yachi smiled then turned towards Yui who then pointed out an area that Yachi could search. After marvelling at how strong Yachi was acting, Kageyama and I turned our attention towards the body.

I couldn’t help but shudder when I looked at the wound on his neck. It was deep, really deep. It honestly surprised me that Shirabu didn’t die instantly from it. Although, it would’ve probably have been better if he had died instantly, at least that way he wouldn’t have had to suffer… I realised how horrible that thought was and quickly shook my head to get it out of my brain. Kageyama stared at me with a quizzical look on his face, but chose not to question my actions. “The circumstances of Shirabu’s death are lot more obvious than Eita’s, so I think this investigation of the body will go a bit quicker than the last one.” Kageyama spoke up, analysing the situation.  
“Easy for you to say… You can actually look at his wound without feeling faint…” I groaned out, squeezing my eyes shut. Kageyama tapped my head, causing me to mutter out a quick “Ow” and open my eyes.  
“I honestly don’t think we need to look at his neck wound, it’s pretty obvious what happened there. We just need to look at the rest of his body to see if there’s anything that’ll give us any hints to his killer.” Kageyama stated. I think he was trying to comfort me, but he said in his usual irritated voice, so if he was, it didn’t work. I sighed half-heartedly and made a small prayer for Shirabu before leaning forward and beginning to check his body for clues. The first thing that caught my attention was the large bruise on his right wrist. It was hand shaped, just like the bruises on Eita’s neck, and just as large.  
“Does this mean that they were definitely killed by the same person?” I enquired, uncertainty clear in my voice.  
“It doesn’t prove that they were killed by the same person, but if the person was strong enough to leave bruises just by grabbing them, it is a possibility.” Kageyama replied in a bland voice. He seemed to be more preoccupied with patting Shirabu’s pockets. His eyes widened as he evidently found something. He carefully put his hand into Shirabu’s pocket, and pulled out a note. We both looked at each other in surprise. I know we were searching his body for clues, but we really weren’t expecting to find anything like that. Kageyama gently unfolded the paper, being careful not to rip it, and then held it out in front of the both of us so we could read its contents.  
“I think I’ve found a way to escape but we can’t all investigate in a large group because it would make Monokuma suspicious. Meet me in the Storage Room at 2:00AM.”  
“…2:00AM? That doesn’t line up at all?” I voiced my confusion as I continued to stare at the note, completely bewildered. Why would Shirabu come over half an hour early? Why was the killer already here at the time? I looked to Kageyama for answers, but he seemed just as confused as I was.  
“Hmm? What’s wrong? Did you find something?” Ushijima’s voice pulled us out of our thoughts and caused us to turn our attention towards him. He was staring at us with an inquisitive look on his face. He must have noticed us frowning at the note and got curious.  
“We found this note from the killer, but the time it asked to meet up doesn’t match up with the time of death at all…” I explained to him. Ushijima made a short noise of curiosity as he placed a hand to his chin in thought.  
“Could I see the note, please?” He requested politely, removing his hand from his chin and extending out in front of him, gesturing for me to place the note in his hand. I nodded and complied, giving the note to him. Who knows? Ushijima was on the same team as both the victims, maybe he could figure something out? His eyebrows creased together as he examined the note thoroughly, before he carefully handed the note back to me.  
“I thought it looked familiar…” Ushijima muttered to himself, catching Kageyama and I’s attention.  
“Familiar? What looked familiar?” Kageyama quickly enquired, catching Ushijima off guard with the urgency in his voice.  
“The handwriting. I recognised the handwriting.” Ushijima replied simply. He did?! That was perfect! We’ll definitely know who the killer was from this!  
“Really?! That’s great! Whose handwriting was it?! We’ll find the killer with this, for sure!” I asked excitedly, happy that we’d finally have an easy case.  
“I honestly doubt that… That handwriting is Shirabu’s…” Ushijima replied half-heartedly, frowning slightly. Huh? It… was Shirabu’s handwriting? That didn’t make any sense… Why did the victim have a note written by himself on him? My hopes of having an easy case were quickly ripped to shreds as the case suddenly got a lot more confusing than it already was. I stared down at the note in my hand, and sighed. What were we supposed to do now?

[New Evidence Obtained  
Bruise On Right Wrist – The bruise on the victim’s wrist looks very similar to the bruises on the other victim’s neck. Could the killer have grabbed the victim?  
Victim’s Note – The note that was found in the victim’s pocket was written by the victim himself. Does this mean that the victim was planning to do something? And why was he in the meeting place much earlier than the time specified on the note?]

I stared down at my feet dejectedly. I had no idea what to do. I had no idea who the killer was. I had no idea how we were gonna get out of this alive. I bit my lip nervously as I tried my hardest to piece everything together, but I had no luck.  
“Oh!” A small surprised voice pulled me out of my thoughts of despair. It was Yui. She was staring into a drawer, third line from the bottom.  
“What’s up? You find something?” Kageyama asked as he wandered over to her, to see what she was looking at.  
“Well, I’m not sure if it could counted as a clue, but all of the other drawers were neatly organised, but this one’s a complete mess, almost as if someone’s been rummaging through it.” Yui murmured thoughtfully. We took a peek in the drawer to see what she was talking about and, sure enough, the drawer was all messed up. What worried me was the contents of the drawer. Scissors. Really sharp scissors. I think I had an idea of why the drawer was all messed up, but I didn’t like it.  
“Oh!” Another voice of surprise pulled me out of my thoughts yet again, but it wasn’t Yui. This time it was Yachi. She was on all fours on the floor, reaching underneath a stack of chairs.  
“What is it, Yachi?” I asked her, as she began backing out from under the chairs. She quickly straightened herself out and sat up, opening up her closed hand to display to us what she had found. A box cutter. A box cutter with blood all over its blade. All of us stared at her wide eyed, as Yachi had quite a nervous expression on her face, anxiously staring down at the blood-stained tool.  
“S-So… It looks like we’ve found the murder weapon…” I muttered out half-heartedly. I wasn’t really sure what to think, to be honest. I was glad that we had found the murder weapon, but it was hardly a nice experience, staring at the object that was used to kill a friend. Nobody uttered a single word. We just stared in silence, unsure of what to say, at least, until I thought of something that confused me. “Wait, what was the murder weapon doing underneath those chairs? Surely if the killer wanted to hide it, they would have taken it with them, right?” I asked cautiously, hoping that the others didn’t think it was a stupid question. It was just something that bothered me…  
“That’s a good point… Why was it under the chairs?” Kageyama pondered. Pretty sure I just asked that myself, genius… Everyone was lost in thought as we tried to conjure up a possible explanation for the strange discovery place of the murder weapon. Yui looked up, and her focused frown suddenly lifted as a thought occurred to her.  
“Wait, this stack of chairs is opposite the door to get in here, what if the killer threw the murder weapon under there as they left the room?” She suggested excitedly. We all pondered the possibility.  
“But, it’s like what Hinata said, if the killer wanted to hide the weapon, they would have taken it with them… What reason would they have for throwing it under the chairs?” Yachi spoke up. Yui thought over what Yachi had said, and then sighed in defeat.  
“Looks like we’re back to square one…”

[New Evidence Obtained  
Messed Up Drawer – A drawer full of scissors is completely disorganised. Did someone go through it looking for a weapon?  
Blood-Stained Box Cutter – The murder weapon was found underneath a stack of chair in the storage room. But what was it doing under there?]

We all stared at the floor, anxiety starting to get the better of us. We’d been investigating for quite a while now, yet we still no clue who the killer could be. I bit my lip nervously as I tried to think of something, anything that could be helpful. The harder I thought, the harder I bit, it got to the point where my lip had begun to bleed. I ignored the stinging sensation as I continued to think. There has to be something! Think of it already! That’s when an idea suddenly entered my brain.  
“Ushijima! I have a quick question! Since you were from the same school as them, you were close, right? Then, did you see either of them at all last night?!” I enquired a little too enthusiastically. Yachi was nervously babbling at me, worrying about the blood dribbling down my chin. I just casually wiped it away with the back of my hand as Ushijima thought back to last night.  
“I didn’t see Shirabu at all last night, but I did see Eita. He said he was going to check up on Shirabu, because he was apparently acting very strangely last night.” Ushijima stated simply with a thoughtful frown on his face.  
“And do you remember what time Eita started searching for Shirabu?” I asked, trying to get the details I could. Ushijima closed his eyes as he tried to remember once more.  
“I think it was around 1:00AM… Although, I’m not sure when Eita actually found Shirabu…” He stated. The pained expression told us that what he was going to say was “I’m not sure if Eita actually found Shirabu” I could understand his pain though. I mean, he had lost two of his teammates in one night… I thanked him for his information, and then we fell into another awkward silence.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Ushijima’s Account – Ushijima saw Eita go to look for Shirabu, who was apparently acting quite strangely, at around 1:00AM. It is unclear if the two of them actually met up.]

“All right, ya pathetic lil bastards, I’m bored now, so get yer asses down here! Now, dammit!” The irritating voice of Monokuma rang out, letting us know that our investigation time was over. The anxiety we had felt earlier was now overflowing. We still had absolutely no idea of who the killer was, and we didn’t any extra time to search for clues. We all glanced at each other nervously as Ushijima was the first to step forward.  
“U-Um… A-Are you sure about this, Ushijima?” I anxiously asked him. Ushijima didn’t stop or even glance over his shoulder as he replied.  
“I don’t like the idea of having to discuss my friends’ deaths, but if it means that we can find the one who did this to them… Then, I’ll deal with it…” There was a slight melancholy to his voice as he spoke. It was clear that he was hurt by this, he was hiding his emotions. My face wore a worried frown as I watched him walk away, before I took a determined deep breath and began walking forward myself. I had to stop thinking so negatively. So what if we don’t have any idea who the killer is right now? We’ll discuss it in the trial. We’ll discover more details in the trial. We will find the killer! With that determined thought in mind, I began walking quicker with large, proud strides. I don’t care what Monokuma throws at us, I’m not gonna back down!

The elevator ride was quiet. Really quiet. Nobody really knew what to say. Apparently, we were the only ones to actually get some results from our investigations. Everyone was clearly worried, but I wasn’t. I was determined. Determined to show Monokuma that I wasn’t going to break down. Determined to show Monokuma that I wasn’t going to give up. Determined to show Monokuma that I wasn’t going to die here.  
“Hey, Shoyo, are you okay? I’ve never seen you this serious…” Nishinoya’s voice caught me off guard as he suddenly whispered to me. He seemed to be worried about me.  
“I’m fine, I just can’t wait to kick Monokuma’s ass.” I replied, grinning with anticipation. Nishinoya wasn’t sure how to respond at first, as surprise washed across his face, but after a while he composed himself and grinned back at me.  
“Is that so? Well then, I’m looking forward to it.” He chuckled back as he cracked his knuckles to show his anticipation. “It’s probably gonna hurt to find the killer, but I can’t wait to see how pissed off Monokuma will be when he sees that we haven’t given up!” As he finished his sentence, the elevator shuddered to a halt, and as the door opened, the all-too-familiar voice rang out once again.

“Let the class trial of the double murder of Shiratorizawa’s Semi Eita and Kenjirou Shirabu… Begin!”


	11. Chapter 3 - Disease, Death and Despair - Class Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally finished this chapter! Goddamn the class trials are so hard to write...  
> Also, I hope you guys realise that I didn't actually choose who dies or who kills or who the mastermind is, I used an online randomizer, so I end up having to kill off a lot of my favourites... Including the one in this chapter. I'm so sorry...

And so, for the third time, we reluctantly positioned ourselves behind our podiums. Once again, there was new portraits in the places of the people we had lost: Tsutomu, Eita, and Shirabu. I couldn’t help but glance at Tendou and Ushijima. Tendou looked pissed off, to the point where it was obvious that he wanted to find the killer so they could punished for what they did to his teammates. Ushijima, on the other hand, was much better at hiding his emotions, however I could still see how hurt he was by looking in his eyes. I didn’t want to take part in the class trial, I was so sick of doing this already, but I knew that I had to do this, if I wanted to survive this messed up school.  
“Now then, let’s begin the class trial for the setter duo of Shiratorizawa, Semi Eita and Kenjirou Shirabu! …Yeah, I can’t think of anything funny to say about these, sooooooo… Get to it, you bastards!” Monokuma yelled out in that irritating voice of his. Everyone grimaced as he spoke, as it signalled the beginning of the class trial that we were all dreading. The beginning of the class trial was always the worst part, ‘cause there was only one question floating everyone’s heads.  
“How do we begin?”

Everyone stared down at the floor when the question was spoken aloud. Nobody had any idea. If we can’t even start the trial, we’re screwed. I began thinking over all of the evidence that we had collected, trying to figure out which one would make the best starting point. In the end, I decided to bring up something that had been bothering me for a while.  
“I think something that we need to figure out is why Shirabu was in the storage room” I spoke up as clearly as I could, to get everyone’s attention.  
“What exactly do mean?” Yahaba asked, not quite sure what I was getting at.  
“What I mean is, we didn’t find any notes asking him to meet them in the storage room, on the contrary… We found Shirabu with a note written by himself asking someone else to meet him in the storage room.” I explained bluntly, pulling out the note and showing it to everyone as I spoke. “But, he still had the note on him, so I think that he didn’t even have the chance to give this person the note.” As I continued, Tendou spoke up in objection.  
“Wait, are you suggesting that he-“  
“Was planning to commit murder? Unfortunately, yes, that’s what I believe.” I quickly cut him off. Tendou had a conflicted look on his face as he tried to process my thoughts on the matter.  
“Now that you mention it, he did seem like he was getting kinda desperate, that disease was really hurting him…” Matsukawa spoke up. The two remaining members of Shiratorizawa stood there in silence, sullen scowls on their faces. They clearly didn’t want to accept what they were hearing, but they had to.  
“So, do you think the disorganised drawer full of scissors was Shirabu’s doing?” Yui piped up inquisitively.  
“Yeah, I think so, especially since the murder weapon that was used to kill Shirabu was a box cutter.” I replied, then paused as I thought of a possible scenario that could have occurred. When one appeared in my mind, I quickly shared it with the others. “I think something that could have happened is that the killer snuck in while Shirabu was searching through the scissors drawer, took a box cutter from one of the drawers near the doorway, and then ambushed Shirabu while he was vulnerable.” Everyone fell silent until a certain cynical voice spoke up.  
“Seriously, when did you get so smart? It’s disgusting.” Tsukishima spat in his usual irritated tone. I chose to ignore that comment, or at least, I took it as a compliment. I mean, he did actually call me smart, which is honestly a change from the usual ‘dumbass’ and ‘moron’ that I’m always hearing…  
“Moving on, you said that the killer used a box cutter? But we didn’t find any weapons near the body, how can you be so sure that they used a box cutter?” Sugawara quickly spoke up, obviously a bit confused and curious. I didn’t even need to explain, Ushijima did it for me.  
“Yachi found the blood-stained box cutter underneath a stack of chairs opposite the door.” He stated bluntly. Everyone looked at Yachi for confirmation, to which she responded by nodding her head.  
“Wait, if the killer used the box cutter, why didn’t they take it with them? It would have been much easier for them to hide it if they did that…” Yamaguchi spoke up, clearly confused at the killer’s actions. I pondered over the possibilities for a minute, until yet another idea popped into my head. Although, I didn’t really want to say it, I had to. Just in case, I was correct.  
“Well, I think that maybe… Maybe the killer was caught off guard…” I trailed off, unsure if I should share my idea or not. My face morphed into a worried frown, focusing everyone’s attention onto me.  
“What do you mean ‘the killer was caught off guard’? What do you think happened?” Tendou urged me on, clearly desperate to know what happened to his teammates. I took a deep breath before I continued.  
“I think that maybe the killer was caught off guard by Eita walking in on them killing Shirabu.”

Everyone stared at me with a stunned silence. No one really knew what to think. Everyone was clearly considering my idea as they all had thoughtful looks on their faces. The silence was suddenly broken by Kageyama’s voice.  
“I agree with Hinata’s idea. If you take all of the evidence into consideration, it makes a lot of sense.” He stated with confidence in his voice. I noticed Nishinoya grimace a little bit next to me, and heard him quietly mutter to himself with a defeated tone.  
“It feels so wrong to hear them solving murders…” I frowned a little at Nishinoya’s words, before quickly composing myself and focusing my attention back onto the debate.  
“Could you please explain what you’re thinking, Kageyama? It’ll probably help us to understand what you and Hinata are talking about.” Kiyoko politely asked while delicately pushing her glasses up.  
“Shirabu’s body was in the middle of the storage room, right? If Eita walked in on the murder, both Eita and the killer would panic, right? So, I think that Eita probably began to run away, so in a panic and a rush to catch Eita before he told anyone what he saw, the killer throws the box cutter behind him as he runs after Eita…” Kageyama quickly paused to make sure that everyone was keeping up with his reasoning. Everyone gave little signs for Kageyama to continue, ranging from small hand gestures to quick nods of the head. “If we assume that the killer was desperately trying to catch Eita, the state of his body would make a lot more sense. The back of his shirt’s collar was loose and ripped, which most likely could have happened if the killer had grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pulled him back. Also, there was a small graze on the back of Eita’s head, if he was pulled back, he probably would have lost his balance and fallen over, which would have probably caused him to hit his head on the floor. And then, once he was on the floor, the killer pinned him down and strangled him to death.”

This time, everyone, including me, were staring at Kageyama in stunned silence. It sounded crazy. But, at the same time, it sounded completely plausible.  
“When the hell did you get so smart?! Seriously, what is happening here?!” Tsukishima yelled in a shocked and confused voice. Well, I don’t really blame him for reacting that way, I mean, Kageyama just figured out everything about Eita’s murder. By himself.  
“That’s all well and good, we figured out how they were both killed, but here’s the real question: Who killed them? That’s the answer we need to have, and we don’t have it.” Hanamaki spoke up in quite a rude tone, but stress was clearly visible on his face, so I didn’t blame him. Everyone fell silent once again as we tried to think of something, anything that would help us uncover the identity of the killer. Tanaka finally spoke up.  
“Wasn’t there anything else on the bodies that would point to the killer? Like, anything at all?” He asked hopefully. But, everyone who searched the bodies shook their heads solemnly. Tanaka sighed disappointedly and muttered while awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “Well, it was worth a shot, I guess…” I knew that I probably wasn’t going to get any results from my suggestion, but like Tanaka said, it was worth a sort, I guess.  
“What about the note that Shirabu wrote? Would there be any kind of hint in that?” I timidly asked, nervous that everyone would think that I’m an idiot with a stupidly pointless idea. Everyone stared at me, some with doubtful looks on their faces, others with thoughtful looks on their faces. Then someone spoke up.  
“I dunno… How’s the fact that Shirabu was targeting Hinata going to help us find the killer?” Huh? Wait, what? Shirabu was targeting me? I quickly pulled out the note and read through it, then turned my attention to the person who said that. It was Iwaizumi.  
“W-Wait, you said that Shirabu was targeting me? H-How did you know that? There’s no name on the note…” I questioned him, my heart pounding in my chest. I was nervous. I was scared. I was just plain terrified of what the truth could reveal. Iwaizumi stared at me in surprise as I brought up that detail. He stared at me for a few seconds before sighing and looking down at the floor.  
“Okay, you caught me. I did it. If I’m being honest, I don’t even know why I didn’t confess… Guess I was scared…” Iwaizumi admitted with a nervous chuckle.

Nobody knew how to react. We just stood there, completely dumbstruck, staring at Iwaizumi with our jaws dropped.  
“I’m guessing that you guys want an explanation, huh?” Iwaizumi sighed out. Only a few of us managed to utter out a ‘yes’, the rest could only nod. Iwaizumi took a breath, then began to explain. “I was suspicious of Shirabu, he had been acting off and I thought that he was probably gonna snap anytime soon, so I decided to keep an eye on him. I followed him to the storage room and heard him muttering to himself with while he was searching through the scissors drawer. He sounded completely deranged and kept telling himself that Hinata would be an easy target, since he was so weak against the disease and that it would be easier to lure him away from his room where he was being watched than sneaking into his room when the watchers were swapping over…” Iwaizumi trailed and glanced at me, obviously aware of the fact that I probably wouldn’t enjoy hearing about this. And he was right. But, I nodded at him to continue, anyway. “Then, it occurred to me that, if I killed him, I wouldn’t just be saving Hinata, I’d be saving everyone from the disease. So, I decided to take that chance, especially since I was sick of seeing everyone suffer… So… I got a box cutter from the drawer next to the doorway… And killed him… But, then I heard a gasp from behind, which turned out to be Eita, and just like you said, I panicked and ran after him, and I… I ended up killing him, too…” Iwaizumi’s voice got quieter as he finished explaining, but he added a final part to his explanation. “I was planning on confessing to all of you when we found the bodies, but then I remembered what happened to Oikawa and Tsutomu… A-And… And I panicked… I’m sorry for causing so much trouble…” He practically whispered as he bowed down in apology.  
A solemn silence filled the room. No one really knew what to say. We all heard the sincerity in Iwaizumi’s words, and it was that sincerity that made this so painful. I looked around at everyone’s faces, all of them either had scowls on their faces or were trying to hold back tears. I turned my attention back to Iwaizumi, who couldn’t bring himself to look at us and instead stared down at his feet in shame. After a few minutes, he sighed, stepped backwards and began walking away from his podium.  
“Well, there’s no point delaying the inevitable, right? Monokuma, let’s just get this over with…” He spoke up in a calm, almost bored voice, but one look at his face would tell you that it was just an act. Everyone suddenly broke free of their depressed daze as they stared at Iwaizumi in shock and began begging him not to do this, but he wouldn’t listen. “I killed someone, I deserve to be punished for that, right?” He simply said in response to our pleas. I knew that he would listen to any pleas for him to stop, so I decided to say something else. I quickly ran out from my podium and towards him.  
“T-Thank you for saving me!” I wailed out while bowing down in one swift movement, glad that he couldn’t see the tears streaming down my face. I heard one short chuckle come from Iwaizumi and saw him step towards me. Then, I felt a large hand gently press down onto my head. As I looked up to see what he was doing, he began ruffling my hair with a soothing smile on his face.  
“Glad to see you’re safe, pipsqueak.” He uttered in a sad tone as he removed his hand and began walking away. It was this point that a certain irritating plush toy decided to get involved.  
“Congrats, kids! You figured it out yet again! Although, that’s only because he messed up, get it together dipshits! Buuuuuuut, anyway, let’s get this show on the road already! Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Aoba Jousai’s ace, Hajime Iwaizumi! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s Punishment Time!”

[G A M E O V E R  
I W A I Z U M I H A S B E E N F O U N D G U I L T Y  
T H E P U N I S H M E N T W I L L N O W C O M M E N C E]

Iwaizumi was stood in the middle of the execution ground. It was unusually quiet. Way too quiet. Scarily quiet. Then, Iwaizumi noticed something on the ground. A tiny sprout was there. Curiosity got the better of Iwaizumi as he bent down to examine the sprout. As he gently touched it, he quickly flinched away as it had pricked his finger, which he stared at as his crimson blood flowed down his finger. Then, the carnage we were all dreading began, as thousands of huge thorned plants shot out of the ground. Iwaizumi was unable to run away from the plants rushing past as they kept scratching him over and over, leaving huge gashes over his entire body. He couldn’t help but grimace in pain as blood continued to pour from each and every wound. Then, the plants began acting differently, rushing towards Iwaizumi, wrapping around his wrists and ankles. Iwaizumi barely had any time to react before he was yanked up into the air. The plants began pulling on his body, harder and harder and harder until… His body was ripped clean in half. His blood began showering down as the plants dropped the two separate halves onto the ground with a harsh ‘bang’.

I felt sick to my stomach. No matter how times I’m forced to watch these gruesome executions, I’ll never get used to them. No one said anything. The Aoba Jousai guys still looked like they were in denial about everything that happened today, and to be honest, I really didn’t blame them. I didn’t want to stick around for Monokuma to make another sickening taunt, so I immediately walked back to the elevator and went back up to the school building. I trudged back to my room while trying to block out any thoughts about the trial and execution from my mind. I couldn’t help but feel guilty. Shirabu was planning to kill me? If he had succeeded, would Eita and Iwaizumi have survived? As I crashed onto my bed and buried my face into my pillow, one thought ran through my mind.  
“I should have been the one to die.”


	12. Chapter 4 - Anxiety and Accidents - Daily Life

I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to open my eyes. I didn’t even want to be alive. I was overwhelmed with guilt. It was because he was trying to save me that Iwaizumi died. If I had just died like Shirabu had originally planned, Iwaizumi wouldn’t have had to resort to murder. And he wouldn’t have had to die. I should have been the one to die. I heard the morning announcement go off, but I didn’t pay attention. I wonder what time it is now… Eh, it probably doesn’t matter. I heard multiple people knock on my door and ask me to come out, but I didn’t answer any of them. After about six people had come, the seventh finally appeared, and were much more motivated. They didn’t just knock my door, they banged it. The noise was annoying. Really annoying. I just rolled over and buried my head under my pillow in an attempt to drown the noise out. After a while, the person finally spoke up.  
“Hinata, would you please just come out already?!” It was Sugawara. His voice sounded calm, but he was clearly trying to hide his irritation. I didn’t answer. I just my buried my head further underneath my pillow. The knocking continued. Over and over and over. It was driving me crazy with how annoying it was. “HINATA!” He called out again. I snapped.  
“Just shut up and go away already!” I yelled back, anger and annoyance clear in my voice. Then the door swung open with a huge “BANG” I sprung up into a sitting position and nervously peered at the door. There was a large dent in it, and Sugawara stood there with one of his feet raised from the ground, and a large smile on his face. But, it wasn’t one of his sweet, reassuring smiles… It was one of his scary smiles. I instantly regretted my decision of yelling at him. He slowly walked over to me and firmly placed his hand on my shoulder and bent down so his face was level with mine.  
“I’m sorry, Hinata, what did you just say? I didn’t quite catch that.” Sugawara said slowly, venom dripping from every syllable. I was terrified as I was forced to stare at that frightening smile.  
“I-I-I-I-I-I’m sorry…” I whimpered out apologetically, desperately trying to find somewhere else to stare. Sugawara released my shoulder and patted it.  
“Good, that’s more like it, now come on, it’s time for breakfast” He said as his murderous aura instantly dissipated and he pulled me up off of my bed, and out the room.  
“U-Um… W-What about my door…?” I awkwardly asked as I was being dragged down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Sugawara flinched and looked back.  
“Oh, right… Uh… I didn’t mean to do that… But, er… I guess Monokuma will fix it? Hopefully?” He awkwardly chuckled with a nervous smile. After that, neither of us said anything as we travelled towards the cafeteria to meet with everyone else.

When we arrived, everyone stared at me. Again. Just how many times has happened since we came here? Have I messed up that many times? I didn’t want to deal with this or apologise yet again, so I just stared at the floor and sat down on a chair, away from everyone else. I heard Sugawara sigh, but he didn’t try to force me to sit with everyone, so I guess he understood how I felt. The room was filled with an awkward silence as we ate our breakfast. It seemed no one wanted to talk about what happened at yesterday’s trial. It didn’t surprise me. That trial was the most draining one so far… So far? What am I talking about ‘so far’? We’re not gonna have any more murders or trials… Right? Oh, who am I kidding? If some of us were willing to murder before, there’s probably still more of us who are that desperate to get out of here… Am I that desperate? I honestly don’t know… And, that fact scares me. I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m just sick of all this. I want to go home. I want to see my friends. I want to hug my mom and sister. I just want to go back to my normal life. Suddenly, I was pulled out of my pessimistic thoughts by the feeling that I was being stared at. I discreetly looked up, to see if there really was someone looking at me, or if my mind was playing tricks on me. There was someone looking at me. Satori was glaring at me. Ah, I see. He hates me. He wishes that I had died. I know that because, if I had died, Iwaizumi wouldn’t have killed Shirabu or Eita. I don’t blame him. He has every right to hate me. I looked down again as I continued eating to avoid seeing the hateful look in his eyes.

Even after we had all finished eating, the silence continued. We all just sat there, with no idea what to say. This continued for a few minutes before Daichi finally cleared his throat and spoke up.  
“Okay, so, uh, I know that none of us are really feeling our best, but some more rooms have been unlocked so I think we should do what we normally do and split up into groups and investigate them.” Everyone stared at him, some looked like they didn’t want to hear another word, while others looked like they were trying to motivate themselves to investigate.  
“I agree. That’s probably the best course of action at the moment. It’ll probably help put some life back into all of us, and besides, we might find some clues on how to escape.” Sugawara spoke up, trying to encourage us to follow Daichi’s plan. A chorus of murmurs and sighs sounded out as people stood up. Daichi had a relieved smile on his face.  
“Okay, that’s better. I checked the map and there are a total of three rooms unlocked. So, I think we should split into two groups of six and one group of five, how does that sound?” Daichi suggested. Everyone simply mumbled and nodded in agreement. “Great! So, let’s get into groups and decide who’s gonna search which room.” He stated enthusiastically. As everyone began walking around and getting into groups, I awkwardly stood there. I wasn’t sure if anyone would want me in their groups, or if I’d feel comfortable in the group. As I was spacing out with my negative thoughts, two hands suddenly patted me on the back, quite hard. Hard enough to wind me slightly. As I coughed, I looked over my shoulder to see who it was. It was Matsukawa and Hanamaki with encouraging smiles on their faces.  
“’Sup Shrimpy” They said in unison.  
“I’d prefer it if you didn’t call me that…” I muttered half-heartedly as I rubbed my back where they had hit me.  
“Sorry” They apologised, again, in unison. I always wondered how they were able to do that so perfectly…  
“Is there something you wanted from me?” I asked cautiously. They raised their eyebrows and looked at me as if I’d gone insane.  
“To team up with us?” Matsukawa told me, in a slightly mocking tone.  
“Obviously?” Hanamaki added, dragging out his vowels slightly.  
“Oh. I didn’t think that anyone wanted to team up with me…” I stated my surprise to them.  
“Well, we do” Hanamaki stated simply.  
“That’s why we asked you.” Matsukawa added an explanation that really wasn’t necessary at that point.  
“Soooooo?” They asked together in sing song voices.  
“So what?” I asked, very confused. Once again, they raised their eyebrows at me.  
“So, do you want to team up with us?” They asked me outright, to make it clear to me.  
“Ohhhhhh… I see, sorry about that… Uh, yeah, I’d like that.” I answered, finally understanding what they were talking about. They just grinned at me and let out a quick “great!” and patted me on the back again, but not as hard as before.  
“Now, we have another matter to attend to…” Matsukawa changed the subject suddenly.  
“Now, we have to find three more to be part of our group.” Hanamaki continued, as the two of them scanned their eyes across the room, looking for anyone to group up with. I looked around the room, too, looking for anyone who’d be willing to join our group. My eyes fell onto Kyoutani and Tanaka as they were butting heads once again. I awkwardly poked Matsukawa on the arm and pointed towards the two wing spikers.  
“Wouldn’t it be best if we had one of them in our team? It would stop them from clashing if they were investigating different rooms…” I suggested quietly. Matsukawa nodded thoughtfully at my suggestion.  
“Good idea, I think we should go with KyouKen, he’s really quiet when you get him away from people he clashes with.” He added. I didn’t really know what to think, since I had never really spoken to Kyoutani before, so I just nodded in agreement. The three of walked over to the two wannabe-thugs, and noticed both Yahaba and Yachi trying to pull them apart. Yachi looked worried and was panicking slightly, while Yahaba just looked irritated.  
“Heyyyyy, KyouKen-Chan! Join our group!” Hanamaki called out in a sing song voice, lifting his hand to the side of his mouth while he spoke.  
“Huh?” Kyoutani growled out, as he tilted his head to look at us. I felt a little intimidated, while Matsukawa and Hanamaki were as laid back and cheeky as ever.  
“Yes, let’s do that, Kyoutani. I’ll join too, to make sure you don’t get into any other fights.” Yahaba stated simply, speaking through gritted teeth, clearly trying to hold in his temper from trying to prevent a fight between Kyoutani and Tanaka.  
“Hmph” Kyoutani huffed dismissively.  
“I’m sorry, what?” Yahaba asked, venom dripping from his voice as he gripped Kyoutani’s shirt and pulled him towards us.  
“Tch… Fine…” Kyoutani muttered out in annoyance while looking away from Yahaba.  
“That’s more like it!” Yahaba cheered sarcastically as he gently shoved Kyoutani towards us. As we were about to discuss who should be the sixth member, we were interrupted by Tanaka’s laughter.  
“Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!! What’s the matter?! You not man enough to face me?! You’re gonna listen to that guy?! What is he, your mom?! Hahahahaha-” Tanaka’s laughter was suddenly cut off by Sugawara slamming his hand onto Tanaka’s shoulder.  
“He listened to Yahaba, and now you’re gonna listen to me. Stop fighting and get your ass over here. Do I make myself clear?” He stated slowly and clearly with the same venomous voice and terrifying smile that he used when I yelled at him. I shuddered just thinking about it.  
“Y-Yes, sir…” Tanaka whimpered out awkwardly as Suga dragged him away by his collar. I couldn’t help but laugh nervously as they walked away. As we were about to discuss our sixth member, we were once again interrupted. But, this time, by Yachi.  
“Um, you guys need one more member right? I-Is it alright if I join you?” She anxiously asked, fidgeting her fingers as she spoke. The five of us looked at each other before Matsukawa and Hanamaki once again responded in unison.  
“Sure thing~” Yachi sighed in relief as she was given permission, and quickly skipped over to join our small huddle.  
“Well, now that we’ve got a full group, I suppose we should see which room we need to check out.” Yahaba curiously suggested. We all agreed with him, and set off to find our assigned room.

After talking to Daichi, we were assigned to investigate the Music Room on the third floor. I checked the map and discovered that all three rooms that had been unlocked were on the third floor, but there were still some rooms on that floor that weren’t unlocked. The method of opening those doors filled my head for a few seconds before I quickly shook those thoughts out. I didn’t want to think of that right now. It would be best if I focused on the unlocked rooms right now. As I kept telling myself that, I was pulled out of my thoughts by Yahaba’s voice.  
“So, this is the music room, right?” He asked, glancing at the door and the map on his E-Handbook to confirm that we were at the right room.  
“Well, the door has musical notes on it… So, I’m gonna go with ‘yes’” Matsukawa replied, a slight sarcastic tone noticeable in his voice. Yahaba pouted a bit at Matsukawa’s response and reached out to the door’s handle, then pushed it down and opened the door. I was imagining the room to be similar to the music room at Karasuno: A small room with multiple small instruments like flutes, recorders, ocarinas, some brass instruments, maybe a trumpet or saxophone, perhaps a guitar, and a piano in the middle of the room. I was wrong. I couldn’t help but gasp when I saw the interior of the music room. 

The room was much larger and much grander than I had imagined. There was a stage at the far end of the room, with four large speakers, two on each side, three microphone stands, a large drum kit and grand piano on it. There was an entire orchestra’s worth of brass and string instruments on the right hand side of the room, and an assortment of guitars on the left hand side, acoustic, electric, bass, you name it, it was there. There were also some electric violins in the mix as well. There were also some keyboards in the left corner closest to the door, while in the right corner, there were shelves stocked up on the smaller instruments like flutes, ocarinas, harmonicas, etc. and the in the middle of the room were some desks, reminding us that this amazing room was actually a classroom. We all stood there for minute in complete awe of the room before composing ourselves and actually started investigating like we were supposed to. I decided to check the far right corner of the room, as it was partially blocked from our view thanks to the stages curtains. I lifted the curtain slightly and ducked under to walk past. I discovered that the corner contained all of the maintenance materials for all of the instruments: replacement strings for the guitars and violins, spare keys for the piano and keyboards, spare drums for the drum kit in case one gets broken, cleaning materials from the brass instruments and any instruments that are put in your mouth, anything a musician needed, it was right there in the corner. I was amazed by the contents of this single corner, there was so much in so little space. I carefully rummaged around, looking for any clues while making sure not to break anything. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find anything helpful, so I left the corner and decided to help Yachi investigate the far left corner.

The left corner of the room was actually another room, split into three parts: A recording booth, a mixing bay, and a storage area. The recording booth was very simple, with a stand to put sheet music on, a microphone and a pair of headphones placed on the stand. The mixing bay was a lot more complicated with a whole desk covered in buttons and switches and sliders that I had no idea what they did. I decided it was better for me to leave it alone, since I’d probably end up breaking it or something. I finally found Yachi in the storage area, looking through some of the drawers.  
“Hey, Yachi, you found anything yet?” I gently asked, making sure not to make her jump. She stopped what she was doing and glanced up at me.  
“Not much so far, just some spare microphones and headphones, and a lot of sheet music… Um, could help me out by checking that side of the room?” She quietly asked me while pointing over to the area she was talking about.  
“Sure thing” I happily agreed with a sweet smile as I made my way over to left hand side of the room. I checked on top of one of the shelves first, finding a CD player and a radio. I quickly took the radio down and began fiddling the dials, trying to see if it would connect to any shows from outside the school. But, nothing happened, all I could hear was static. I wasn’t surprised, in all honesty, that was the result I was expecting, but it was still worth a try, right? I sighed quietly as I gently placed the radio back onto the shelf. I turned my attention to the cupboard next to the shelf. It looked quite large, so there had to be something helpful in there, right? That’s what I kept telling myself as I opened it. Once again, I was wrong. All it contained was another CD player and hundreds upon hundreds of CDs. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe they are helpful… This gives us something to keep us entertained, especially Tsukishima, he’s been looking even more irritated than usual since he hasn’t had his headphones since he got here. Yeah, he’ll probably appreciate this! I checked through all the CDs to see what they had, and there were CDs of every genre! Tsukishima would definitely appreciate this! I had one last look through the cupboard to see if there was anything else in there, but there wasn’t… Just more and more CDs. After giving up on the cupboard, I closed it and looked around to see if there was anything else for me to investigate. There didn’t seem to be anything left on my side.  
“Hey Yachi, do you need any help with the drawers?” I asked as I turned to face her.  
“No, I’m almost finished. Thanks for asking, though. Why don’t you see if any of the guys out there need any help?” She replied simply and sweetly.  
“Okay then, let us know if you need any help or if you find anything, ‘kay?” I informed her as I began to walk out of the room.  
“Okay, I will” She called out as I walked through the door.

As I stepped back into the main room, I wondered where I should investigate next. I looked around to see what the others were doing. Matsukawa and Hanamaki were looking through the drawers of the smaller instruments in the right hand corner, Yahaba was investigating the loud speakers on the stage, and Kyoutani was investigating the guitars in the left hand corner. Since nobody was investigating them, I made my way over to the desks. You never know, there might be something helpful in them. There were only six desks in the room, so I’m guessing that only people with music based talents used this room for their studies. I checked the first desk, nothing inside. Second desk, a pencil case that looked like a panda with stationary inside. Third desk, nothing inside. Fourth desk, a sheet detailing a homework task. Fifth desk, some sheet music with lyrics written on it. Curiosity got the better of me and I read it. The more I read, the more disturbed I was. “Everything should just disappear”, “Nothing matters at all”, “Let the crimson flow”, “Release the monster within”, “Kill all hope till only despair remains”, “My adorable little puppet, without me, you are worthless” It just kept going on and on, none of the lyrics even flowed together, it was a terrible song. All I could really get from the lyrics was that someone hated the world and was manipulating someone. It made practically no sense. I wasn’t sure what to do about it, so I decided to just put it back in the desk and forget about it. After all, it didn’t give us any hints about our situation, right? So, it was probably just a student venting after a hard day… Yeah, that’s probably what it was… After regaining my composure, I remembered that there was one more desk to search. I opened the sixth desk, and screamed as I fell to the floor. The sight that greeted me made me feel sick. The other guys heard my scream and rushed over to see if I was alright and what had spooked me so much. That’s when they saw what I had discovered.  
A hand.  
A severed hand.  
It had long painted nails and a bracelet still around the wrist. And the smell. The smell was nauseating. None of us knew how to react. I mean, why the hell is something like that in here? It made no sense. Hanamaki reached over and closed the desk with a shaking hand, and then spoke with a quiet voice.  
“I think it’s probably better if we don’t tell Yachi or anyone else about this… We don’t want them to panic, y’know? What do you guys think?” We all thought about it for a minute.  
“Yeah, I think it’s for the best.” Matsukawa agreed.  
“Yeah… We don’t want anyone to panic…” Yahaba mumbled.  
“We don’t need anyone freaking out, it’ll just make things more difficult.” Kyoutani huffed out, but I think that was his way of showing concern for other people?  
“Y-Yeah… I think we should keep this to ourselves… Everyone will be terrified if we tell them…” I stuttered out my response. I know that it’s a big find, but we want to find stuff that’ll help us, not scare us. If they found out about this, someone would probably end up panicked enough to murder… And I really don’t want that to happen again. I was suddenly pulled out of those dark thoughts by a loud, strange noise. I whipped my head around to see what it was. Turns out it was Matsukawa… With a kazoo in his mouth? Um, okay? He blew into it again, producing the same strange noise, and then took it out of his mouth.  
“You all looked down in the dumps. I thought this might make you laugh.” He explained simply. Everyone stared at him in confusion. And then Hanamaki burst out laughing.  
“Y-Your timing s-sucks, you know t-that?!” He managed to finally say in between all of his giggles as he clutched his stomach.  
“Really? I thought timing made up a big part of comedy? Thought I picked the perfect time… Huh.” Matsukawa asked, slightly surprised as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. These two were really two of the funniest people I had ever met. Even in times like this, they’re still trying to make people laugh. Seeing their exchange, I couldn’t help but giggle a little. Matsukawa instantly noticed and pointed at me. “Ha! You see?! I can make people other than you laugh!” He cried out triumphantly, sticking his chest out in pride.  
“Good for you.” Hanamaki sighed out with an exasperated yet fond smile on his face, as he folded his arms across his chest and softly shook his head. I couldn’t help but giggle again as I glanced over to Yahaba and Kyoutani, who hadn’t really reacted to the two third years at all. As Yahaba noticed me staring, he sighed and said  
“When you’re on the same team as them and see them around school all the time, you get used to their stupidity…” Kyoutani didn’t say anything, but he did nod in agreement.  
“I’m offended, Yahaba! You clearly don’t know the difference between stupidity and comedy.” Hanamaki gasped, as he overdramatically draped himself over a desk, pressing his hand to his forehead. Matsukawa burst out laughing, I tried to hide my giggles, Kyoutani huffed, and Yahaba just sighed once again. We all tried to calm down when we heard the door near the stage open and Yachi call out to us.  
“U-Um, are you guys… Okay?” She sounded really confused, especially since she was staring at Hanamaki, who was still draped over the desk. Matsukawa was desperately trying to control his laughter so he could respond, but was failing miserably. I was having the same problem with my giggle fit. In the end, Yahaba sighed yet again and decided to answer for us.  
“These decided to hold an impromptu comedy session… It’s not very funny.” He explained blandly as he rolled his eyes at the two third years who had collapsed from laughter. Yachi looked even more confused.  
“O…Kay…? Um, anyway, have you guys found anything that suggests a way to get out?” She asked hopefully.  
“No, nothing like that at all.” I gasped out as finally got my giggles under control and wiped the tears from my eyes. “What about you?”  
“No… All I found was headphones, microphones, and sheet music…” She admitted disappointedly while shaking her head.  
“It’s okay, not need to feel guilty, none of us found anything, even though we searched everywhere in this room. That being said, why don’t we return to the cafeteria, since we’ve clearly finished in here?” Yahaba gently reassured her then looked around at us for our opinions on his suggestion. We all nodded at him or said a quick ‘sure’ in response. Then one by one, we all walked out of the room and began to head back to the cafeteria.

It turns out that we weren’t the first group that had finished. Kiyoko’s group was already back and waiting for everyone to return. Their group consisted of Kiyoko, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, Tanaka, Nishinoya and Kageyama. I wonder how they got anything done… I mean, with Tsukishima and Kageyama constantly provoking each other, and Tanaka and Nishinoya constantly chasing after Kiyoko, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if most of the investigation was done by Kiyoko and Yamaguchi.  
“Welcome back.” Kiyoko politely greeted us and gave a curt nod of her head.  
“Hi, have you been waiting long?” I asked. I’d feel kinda guilty if we’d been making them wait for quite a while.  
“No, we only got back here about five minutes ago.” She replied simply, with a little shake of her head. “Hitoka-Chan, are you alright?” She asked, tilting her head slightly to look past me and patting the chair next to her, gesturing for Yachi to sit down.  
“Oh, yes, I’m fine! It’s just three flights of stairs can be pretty tiring…” Yachi awkwardly replied and she wandered over to the chair and daintily sat down. I had to agree with her there. The stairs in this school go on forever… Wait… A thought just crossed my mind.  
“That’s just made me think…” I spoke up, focusing everyone’s attention onto me.  
“What’s up?” Yamaguchi asked, slight worry evident on his face.  
“All of the stairs in this place are all really long, and we still haven’t unlocked every floor in this place, so I can’t help by wonder… Just how big is this place?” I explained my thought process to them, hoping that they’d understand where I was coming from.  
“…That’s a fair point…” Tsukishima muttered as he got his E-Handbook out, and clicked on the map icon. “This says that there’s five floors.” He stated after checking the map.  
“If that’s the case, how high up are they? I mean, the stairs are all so long, so just how high up does this building go? And if we find a way to escape on a higher floor, will we be able to survive it?” I replied, voicing all of my concerns. As I was talking, everyone else in my group had sat down, and considering that I was making myself panic, I decided that it would be better if I sat down too.  
“I get what you’re saying… But, there’s really no way for us to know until something like that happens…” Nishinoya explained, with a slightly defeated look on his face.  
“I guess you’re right…” I sighed out. Just as our conversation had finished, the final group, the group of five, had walked in.  
“Sorry, have we kept you guys waiting?” Sugawara sweetly asked as he stepped through the door, waving at us.  
“Not at all!” Yachi replied politely as the group began to take their own seats.  
“Well, now that everyone’s here, let’s share our information.” Daichi announced using his typical leader-like voice.

“Okay, we’ll go first” Yahaba confidently spoke up while raising his hand and slowly standing up. Daichi nodded at him to give his report. “My group, which consisted of me, Kyoutani, Matsukawa, Hanamaki, Hinata, and Yachi, investigated the music room. It is much larger room than expected, with a stage at the far end. The room contained a large variety of sound equipment and instruments, along with the materials required for maintenance. There’s also a door off the far left corner of the room, leading to three smaller rooms, which are: a recording booth, a mixing bay, and a storage room. But, none of them contained any kind of hint on how to escape.” As he finished speaking, Yahaba took his seat again. I glanced at the other boys from my group, who all glanced back. We knew that he had hidden a piece of information, but it was probably for the best that no one else knew. That’s what we had decided, right? Realising that something else should be mentioned, I quickly raised me hand.  
“Um! Something else! Uh, in the storage room, there were a number of CD players and radios, along with thousands of CD’s. While the radios can’t connect to the outside, we can at least use them to listen to music and entertain ourselves” I announced. I heard a murmur of excitement from everyone else, at the idea of finally being able to listen to music after all this time. I took a glance towards Tsukishima to see his reaction to this news. While his facial expression hadn’t changed at all, I could see a little sparkle in his eyes, so I could tell that he was happy to hear about that.

After everyone had calmed down a little bit, Kiyoko stood up to give her report.  
“My group, which consisted of Kageyama, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Tanaka, Nishinoya, and myself, investigated the dance room. It was quite a large room, with a line of benches along the left and right walls. The back wall was covered in mirrors while the front wall had a large screen and stereo system, which we assume was most likely used to show students examples of the routines and to play them the music. There was also a door on the front wall which lead to a changing room. There weren’t any clues that pointed towards a way to escape.” As she finished her report, she gracefully sat back down and tucked her hair behind her ear, while the other members of her group nodded to confirm her statement. Everyone remained silent as they thought over that information. There really wasn’t anything helpful at all… As everyone was thinking, Daichi stood up to give his group’s, and the final, report.  
“My group, which consisted of myself, Suga, Yui, Ushijima, and Tendou, investigated the theatre. It honestly didn’t look like a classroom, it looked like an actual amphitheatre. There was a large stage, complete with large curtains and light and sound systems. There’s a small room to the right of the stage which is used to control the lights, sounds, and backdrop. There was also another room to the left of the stage, according to the map, it’s the prop storage room, however it’s still locked so we couldn’t go inside. Like everyone else, we didn’t find any helpful clues…” He admitted with a slightly defeated tone as he sat back down.

We all sat in silence for a while, as we thought over all of the information we had discovered. Once again, we had investigated a group of newly opened room, only to learn absolutely nothing about the situation we’re in or how to escape. It was starting to get kinda tedious, we just wanted to at least learn something new… Why was that proving to be so difficult? As we continued to think, a grumbling sound suddenly echoed through the room, catching everyone’s attention. As we looked around, Yamaguchi awkwardly spoke up.  
“S-Sorry… I’m just kinda hungry…” He nervously chuckled while rubbing the back of his neck. Everyone giggled a little bit in response. Now that I think about it, it’s been a few hours since we ate last, it should be a little later than lunchtime by now. Kiyoko, Yachi, Yahaba, and Tendou all seemed to think the same thing, as the four of them stood up and made their way towards the kitchen.  
“We’ll prepare some food for everyone, so don’t worry about it, okay?” Kiyoko informed us, flashing a sweet smile that instantly made Tanaka and Nishinoya swoon. While the four of them were in the kitchen, the rest of us split us into smaller groups to talk. I quietly closed my eyes to relax a little bit, before someone poked me on my head. I opened my eyes and tilted my head back to see who it was. It was Kageyama. It suddenly occurred to me that I haven’t actually spoken to him at all today. However, I didn’t exactly feel comfortable talking to him while he was stood behind me and glaring down at me, so I gently patted the chair next to me, gesturing for him to sit down. I know that he glares without meaning to, but he really needs to sort that out… He awkwardly sat down and continued to star at me, as if he had something he wanted to say.  
“Is there something you want?” I asked, trying to help him along. He flinched when I spoke, and scrunched his face into a frown/pout as he clearly tried to think of what to say.  
“Are you all right?” He finally asked. I was kinda surprised. All that fuss over asking me if I’m all right.  
“Yeah, I’m fine, I guess, why do you ask?” I replied.  
“W-Well, I mean, with what happened yesterday… I-I… I was worried about you…” He managed to finally blurt out, once again with that awkward frown on his face. Oh. I see. That’s what he was talking about. I sighed as I thought about my answer.  
“W-Well… I still feel like it’s all my fault, but, thanks to my group, I’ve cheered up a little bit.” I admitted. As the words left my mouth, I suddenly realised something. The reason why Matsukawa and Hanamaki asked me to team up with them. The reason they messed around with the instruments in the music room. They were trying to cheer me up. I let out an appreciative giggle as I turned round to look at them. They both noticed me looking. Hanamaki sent back a knowing smile, while Matsukawa pretended he had no idea of what I was thinking. I honestly couldn’t thank them enough. They went out of their way to make me feel better. I looked back to Kageyama, who was staring at me with a confused face.  
“Don’t worry about it.” I giggled, lifting my hand to mouth. Kageyama was still confused, but he let out a sigh of relief anyway.  
“Well… As long as you’re okay…” He muttered as he scratched the back of his head. We continued chatting about random things, until the group came back from the kitchen with all of the food that they had prepared. As soon as they placed it down, everyone practically pounced on it. We were all starving, and it’s surprising how tiring all of those stairs are. Everyone happily dug in, stuffing our faces as the food on the plates steadily disappeared.

After we had all finished our meals, we all sat back happily and continued with our conversations. This was definitely the most laidback we had all been in a very long time. It was reassuring, seeing everyone act like their usual selves after all the shit we’ve been through. It reminded me of when we’d all hang out together after practise, probably go to Sakanoshita Store and buy some meat buns for everyone and then walk home together, talking about nothing in particular. I smiled nostalgically as I thought about it. Even though that was, at most, only a couple of weeks ago, it felt so long ago. I let out a relaxed sigh as I leaned back against my chair. However, I immediately shot back up when I heard an all too familiar laugh. Monokuma.  
“Wassup, ya lil shits?! Whatcha doing? Y’all having fun? Just chilling out? Well, isn’t that nice?” He rambled in his irritating voice.  
“What now?” Yahaba huffed out, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. Everyone seemed to have the same reactions, clearly not in the mood to deal with that dumb bear right now.  
“Geeeeez, not the warm welcome I was expecting… But, whatever, I have an announcement!” Monokuma sighed dejectedly before quickly returning to his usual overexcited self. When he said ‘announcement’ my stomach suddenly turned. I didn’t know what he was planning, but I definitely didn’t trust it. I gulped nervously as Monokuma prepared to speak again, bracing myself for whatever horrible news he was gonna give us. “It’s time for your new motive!” He yelled out enthusiastically, throwing his arms up into the air. My heart fell. No… Not this again… I can’t handle this again… I bit my lip to hold back my anxiety, which seemed to be much more prevalent than last time… Seriously, my heart was beating ridiculously fast, it made me feel uncomfortable. “Well, actually I’ve already given it to you.” Monokuma admitted nonchalantly.  
“What?!” I gasped out. I was having difficulty breathing for some reason. Why am I panicking so much? What’s wrong with me? What’s happening?! Monokuma chuckled a little bit before he responded.  
“I’ve given you all a drug that elevates your anxiety levels drastically! You’re all gonna be losing your goddamn minds from panicking so much! Oh, and FYI, I snuck that drug into your food! Hope you all enjoyed it! Yahahahahahahahaha!” The plushie exclaimed maniacally, clearly enjoying our terror as the drug was taking affect. So, that’s why I feel this way. It’s horrible. So horrible. Make it stop. Make it stop! Please just make it stop! I can’t stand it! My heart feels like it’s beating throughout my entire body! My body temperature’s way too high! I can’t breathe! It hurts! It hurts so much! Wait, why does my face feel wet?! Oh. I’m crying. Why am I crying? When did I start crying? Monokuma spoke up again, distracting me slightly from my panic. “Welp, you lot can have fun with that, and I’ll just have fun watching you suffer. Bye-onara!” And with that, the plush toy was gone. My chest hurt. It felt like it was bursting. I felt like all of my senses were being overloaded. I decided it would probably be best if I was by myself.  
“U-Um, I-I-I’m gonna go to my room… See if I can calm down…” I stuttered out nervously as I shuffled out of the room. Only a few people responded, with the rest trying to control their own anxiety. I then powerwalked to my room. I only meant to walk, but the immense paranoia caused my speed to increase. As soon as I got to my room, I slammed the door shut and locked it before flinging myself onto my bed and trying to force myself to go to bed, in an attempt to escape the overwhelming anxiety.

I didn’t sleep very well. I did manage to get some sleep, but I was tossing and turning the entire night. My heart was still beating furiously. I could hear it clearly, ringing and throbbing through my head. I hated it. I shook my head in an attempt to get the sound and feeling out of my head, but it was futile. I let out a shaky sigh, and made my way directly to the cafeteria. When I arrived, everyone else was already there. Oh god, am I late? Did I oversleep? Thousands of questions ran through my mind as I panicked over the last one there. Suga noticed my inner turmoil and gently shook his head attempting to calm me down. It didn’t really work, but I appreciated the sentiment nonetheless. I quickly found a free seat and sat down. No one was talking. At all. I think it was because no one wanted to share their thoughts, just in case they made someone else more anxious. We all just sat there, eating in silence. But, the air was thick and heavy with a sense of paranoia. It almost felt like, if someone lit a match, the air would easily catch on fire and burn all of us to death. It felt so oppressive. I couldn’t stand it. It felt like I was being crushed. Everyone else was just either staring into space, biting their nails, or tapping their finger and foot, in the hopes that it would keep their minds occupied and distract them from the constant feeling of fear and dread. The high paced tapping sound was beginning to make me panic, so I quickly excused myself and ran back to my room. I thought that maybe, if I was by myself, that I wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed. But I was wrong. So very wrong. I felt like the room was closing in on me, crushing me. I felt like the air was suffocating me, smothering me. I couldn’t stand it. In the end, I decided to just try and sleep to block out the immense anxiety coursing through my body with every heartbeat.

I felt terrible when I woke up. It took me ages to finally get to sleep, and even then I was continuously tossing and turning. As I sat up, the morning announcement rang out, so I had managed to waste a day. Not that I mind. When I feel like this, I’d much rather sleep the entire day away just so I can ignore it. I decided that I should at least leave my room, maybe a small walk would make me feel a little better? As I exited my room, I bumped into Kageyama, Yamaguchi, and Tsukishima.  
“Good morning…” I mumbled out.  
“Good morning, Hinata” Yamaguchi replied politely, while Kageyama and Tsukishima gave curt nods.  
“What are you guys doing?” I asked, wondering why the three of them were together.  
“We’re all sick of this anxiety, so we decided that we’d play some volleyball to calm ourselves down. We were actually coming to ask you if you wanted to join us.” Kageyama answered matter-of-factly. I was surprised that they were looking for me, but their idea sounded inviting.  
“Sure, I’d love to!” I replied with a small grin on my face. Kageyama just smiled gently while Yamaguchi grinned and Tsukishima adjusted his glasses then the four of us made our way to the gymnasium, making small talk with each other as we wandered through the halls.

We swung the gymnasium doors wide open as we entered and casually strolled in, trying to trick ourselves into thinking that the drug Monokuma gave us wasn’t working.  
“Hm? That’s weird…” I couldn’t help but remark as we walked in.  
“What’s weird?” Yamaguchi asked, leaning forward slightly to see me past Tsukishima.  
“I could have sworn that there was a net up the last time I was here…” I explained as I pointed towards the court. The two posts were in their usual places at the sides, but the net itself was nowhere to be seen. Kageyama frowned in confusion, now that I had pointed it out, he was thinking that exact same thing.  
“Maybe there’s a spare one in the storage room?” Tsukishima suggested, with his hands on hips, not fazed at all.  
“Right, I’ll go get one” I agreed instantly, lightly jogging towards the storage room.  
“I’ll help you, there’s no way someone as tiny as you will be able to carry the net by yourself.” Kageyama spoke up as he followed me to the storage room.  
“Screw you!” I yelled out as I opened the door and entered, Kageyama catching up and entering just a few seconds after me. “Geeez!” I couldn’t help but express my surprise as I lifted my hand to my nose. A disgusting smell filled the room. It smelt familiar, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I turned around to see Kageyama doing the exact same thing, but trying his best to ignore it.  
“I found the volleyballs, I’ll take them out the room and pass them to Yamaguchi, you get the net and then I’ll help you carry it.” He instructed me firmly and simply.  
“Fiiiiine…” I muttered out as I made my way towards the nets in the corner of the room. They were all ridiculously tangled up, I told Kageyama that information and then proceeded to try and untangle them the best I could. I couldn’t help but feel that the net on the top of the bundle felt a little heavier, and as I thought that, part of the net fell loose and revealed something that I never expected to see. I couldn’t help but let out a gasp. Kageyama, who was stood by the doorway heard me and called out to check on me.  
“What’s up?” You stuck? You find something?”  
“A-A hand…”  
“A hat?”  
“A hand”  
After hearing me clearly, Kageyama froze for a few seconds before composing himself and making his way over to me and the nets, to see what I was talking about. He saw the hand that I had discovered and took a deep breath before saying.  
“Let’s unroll the net.” I could hear the unease in his voice, but I knew that it was what we needed to do, so I took a deep breath, nodded, and then gently took hold of the net as Kageyama did the same. We slowly but surely unravelled the net and revealed the sight that we were not prepared to see.  
Already dying blood dripping from the back of their head, staining their beautiful blonde hair and the net underneath them. Eyebrows curved upwards in fear. Eyes squeezed shut in pain, and their mouth slightly agape in shock. We stared down at the dainty dead body of Hitoka Yachi. I tried to speak, but I couldn’t. As much as I tried, I couldn’t. In the end, Kageyama finally spoke up for the both of us.  
“W-What the hell..?” He gasped out, slightly louder than he was expecting. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi apparently heard him as they came into the storage room and leaned across to see what the fuss was about.  
“Are you guys ok-AAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!” Yamaguchi cut off his own question with own scream as he spotted the body of our manager-in-training and close friend.

“Bing bong! Bing bong! A body has been discovered! After a brief investigation period, a class trial will commence!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaand, I've finally finished this chapter. I think this is by far the longest chapter I've ever written... Goddamn this was exhausting. Any kind of feedback would really help.  
> But, anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this. I'm gonna sleep now.


	13. Chapter 4 - Anxiety and Accidents - Deadly Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update?! Already?! Well, this is rare, isn't it?  
> Don't expect it to happen too often...  
> This is a really short chapter when you compare it to the previous one...  
> But, anyway, tell me who you guys think the killer is? I'm a lil worried that I made it a bit too obvious...

I couldn’t believe what I was looking at. What the hell? What the hell?! My eyes stung as I could feel tears pricking at the sides of them. I bit my lip as the tears began slowly trickling down my face, leaving warm, wet trails behind them.  
“What kinda monster goes after a gentle girl like her?” I gasped out. I honestly couldn’t tell what the prevalent emotion was: Sadness or anger. It was like a confused mixture of the two. I looked at Kageyama after he didn’t respond. He had his head tilted towards the ground and eyes scrunched shut with a guilty grimace on his face. I was worried about him, he looked like he was beating him up inside.  
“She told us that she was gonna go back to her room at noon yesterday… She didn’t answer when we went to check on her… We just assumed that she was asleep… If I had thought that something was weird, I could have stopped this…” Kageyama whispered in between sobs that he was holding in. I leaned over and placed my hand on his shoulder in an attempt to cheer him up.  
“There’s no way you could have figured out that this was gonna happen… It’s not your fault…” I told him as I gently patted his back. I looked back at Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi was looking at the floor, his hair covering his eyes, but I could tell he was crying from his shaking shoulders. Tsukishima was looking to the side with a strained expression. After a while he sighed.  
“I’ll go tell everyone to come here… You guys keep watch…” We all silently nodded in response as he walked out the door and we remained silent for the entire time we were waiting for him to return.

We heard everyone come rushing into the gymnasium, muttering amongst themselves. Tsukishima poked his head around the door.  
“I’ve brought everyo-” He was cut off by Kiyoko shoving her way past him.  
“Hitoka-Chan!” She exclaimed desperately. She obviously didn’t want to believe it. She reached over to hold Yachi’s hand, but was interrupted by an all-to-familiar voice.  
“Ah, ah, ah! I wouldn’t do that missy! The investigation hasn’t even begun yet! That would be desecrating a crime scene!” Monokuma warned her with an irritating grin. Kiyoko grimaced and reluctantly pulled her hand back, away from Yachi’s body. “Good girl! Now, can you lot go back into the gym, please? It’s much easier to make announcements in bigger rooms!” Following his orders, we all stood up and exited the storage room, Yamaguchi and Kiyoko shot guilty glances towards Yachi, as if they were apologising for leaving her. As we entered the gym, we joined with the larger group and Monokuma began his speech. “Well, I am extremely happy! One of you gave into the stress and killed, just like I wanted you to! Thanks a bunch, kiddo! But, now, you guys don’t need increased anxiety, that motive is yesterday’s news now! Soooooooo, here’s some pills that counteract the drug’s effects, and don’t worry! Their effect is instant! After all, we don’t want you guys panicking during the investigation and trial and screwing everything up, now, do we?” As he announced that, he handed one pill to all of us. They were small and had a faint blue colour with no smell at all. We didn’t really trust him, but when it came to the rules and the motives, he was usually 100% honest, so we all placed the pills in our mouths and swallowed. He was right. The effect was instant. I could feel the anxiety washing away, out of my body, my thoughts becoming unclouded, and heartbeat slowing down to its normal pace. I breathed a sigh of relief to be finished with that nightmare. Monokuma watched silently, waiting for all of us to take the pills, and then carried on with his speech. “Well, you guys know the drill from this point on: Here’s the Monokuma File, investigate the murder, find clues, figure out whodunit, yadayadayada… Welp, have fun! I’ll call you guys when time’s up! Later!” And with that, he left. I sighed dejectedly and pulled out my e-handbook to check the Monokuma File.  
[Monokuma File No.5  
Victim – Hitoka Yachi, First Year, Karasuno High School  
Location – Body discovered in Gymnasium Storage Room, First Floor  
The victim suffered from blunt force trauma to the back of the head and suffered from heavy blood loss, due to the head wound. There are also slight bruises located on their upper arms. The estimated time of death is 1:00PM]  
Blunt force trauma? Doesn’t that mean the killer… smashed her head in? I shook my head, trying to get rid of that horrible thought. In the meantime, I had to hurry up and begin investigating. I decided to start at the same place that I did with every investigation: The body. I made my way back to the storage room and Yachi’s body. When I entered, I discovered that Kiyoko was already there, kneeling beside Yachi, her eyes slightly wet as she gazed down at Yachi. I cleared my throat to make her aware of my presence. She glanced up at me.  
“I haven’t touched her, so feel free to investigate” She murmured quietly as she turned her gaze back to Yachi.  
“Oh, uh, thank you…” I muttered awkwardly as I walked over to them and kneeled down as well. First, I wanted to check the bruises that the Monokuma File mentioned, since I wouldn’t have to move her body to check. I gently held her arm and cautiously lifted her sleeve. And there it was. A huge bruise on her upper arm. “Kiyoko-San, could you please check her other arm?” I asked quietly but firmly. She nodded in agreement and copied my actions. There was an identical bruise on her other arm. I frowned in confusion as I tried to figure out what could have caused those bruises to appear. As I was thinking, Kiyoko voiced her opinion.  
“They look like handprints… And the way they’re positioned makes it look like someone was holding her in place…” She grimaced once again as she thought about what might have happened. I didn’t want to think about it, but her idea seemed entirely possible. I sighed quietly, squeezing my eyes shut, trying not to cry.  
“Yeah… That seems to be possible…” I muttered out reluctantly. I sighed again as I thought about what I had to investigate next. “U-Um… Could you help me lift Yachi up? I need to look at the back of her head…” I asked awkwardly. But, Kiyoko agreed almost instantly, gently sliding her arms underneath Yachi’s back and carefully lifting her up into a sitting position and holding her there. I leaned to the side slightly so I could examine the wound on the back on her head. It was big. Really big. It made me think that her head had been hit multiple times with a flat object. But, if that’s the case… “Where’s the weapon?” I asked out loud. Kiyoko seemed to know what I was thinking as she instantly replied.  
“Why don’t move her body and check if the killer hid the weapon in the net as well?” She suggested. I agreed. We both gently lifted Yachi’s body and carefully moved her to the side. Then, we grabbed the net and stood up with it, untangling it and holding it at full length. We couldn’t see anything in the net, but we shook it, just in case. Nothing. Kiyoko and I looked at each other with quizzical faces. As we were pondering where the weapon could be, Yamaguchi walked in.  
“Um, what are you doing?” He asked cautiously, tilting his head in confusion.  
“We’re checking the net for weapons… We didn’t find any.” I responded awkwardly, just realising how strange we probably looked. Yamaguchi placed his hand on his chin as he began to think.  
“What if the killer took the weapon to the Trash Room to get rid of it?” He suggested quietly.  
“Ah! Of course! Why didn’t I think of that…? I’ll go check it out!” I exclaimed excitedly, thankful to have a lead on where to look next.  
“I’m going to stay here… I’d rather stay by her side at the moment… If that’s all right…” Kiyoko muttered out, lowering her head. I gave an understanding nod.  
“Of course, I think that’d make her happy” I murmured sweetly as I stood up. I saw a slight smile on Kiyoko’s face after I said that. That’s good, as long as she’s happy with what she’s doing.  
“If that’s the case, do you mind if I tag along with you, Hinata?” Yamaguchi asked, leaning forward expectantly.  
“Sure thing, I could use some help!” I responded cheerfully, thankful for Yamaguchi’s offer. And with that, we made our way out of the storage room and towards the Trash Room.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Bruises On Victim’s Arm – There are large bruises located on the victim’s upper arms shaped like hand prints. Did the killer hold them in place?  
Wound On Victim’s Head – There is a large wound caused by blunt force trauma on the back of the victim’s head. It seems like the victim’s head was hit multiple times with a flat surfaced object]

It seems that we were the only ones who thought to investigate the Trash Room as no one else was in there when we entered. We headed straight for the incinerator and checked inside. We couldn’t see anything.  
“What if they already burned the evidence?” Yamaguchi asked anxiously, worried that we may have lost our lead. I thought for a moment.  
“I’ve got an idea… Hey! Monokuma! I got a question!” I yelled out. Almost instantly, I got a response from behind me.  
“Hey hey hey! Here I am, kiddo! Whaddya need?” He announced his presence nonchalantly.  
“Has the incinerator been used recently?” I asked, being as straightforward as possible. I just wanted to get the information and needed and be done with it.  
“Ooooooh! Nice thinking, squirt! You’ve definitely gotten smarter after coming here! I like it! Hang on a minute, I’ll get the usage log for ya!” Monokuma exclaimed excitedly, waving his arms around. He then suddenly froze in place and had a distant look in his look. Yamaguchi and I exchanged worried looks, then had our attention placed back on Monokuma after he made a strange noise.  
“BLEEEEEGGGGGGHHHHHH” As he made that noise, a piece of paper came out of his mouth. He yanked it out with his paw and handed it to me. “Here ya go, kiddo! Here’s the usage log for the incinerator, this’ll tell ya when it was last used.”  
“Uhhhhh, thank you for your help?” I mumbled as I hesitantly took the paper from him. Why is it warm? Nope, not thinking about it, it’s already too weird for me.  
“No problemo, tiny! Happy to help! And thank you! For being so polite! Later!” Monokuma yelled out in response before abruptly leaving. Yamaguchi and I stood there in silence, trying to figure out what just happened.  
“W-Well, at least we’ll know when the incinerator was used now…?” Yamaguchi spoke up, with a confused smile and a shrug. I agreed with a slight nod of my head as I lifted the paper up and began to read through it.  
“The incinerator wasn’t used to dispose of evidence. The last time it was used was two days ago, Yachi died yesterday, so there’s no way.” I stated simply, lifting my eyes from the paper to look at Yamaguchi. He leaned over to look at the paper and the proof behind my claim. After he saw it, he gave an approving nod and rested his hand on his chin as he began thinking of where to check next.  
“Why don’t we check the cleaning cupboard? There may be something in there.” He suggested, pointing towards the cupboard in the corner of the room. I instantly agreed and we quickly made our way over.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Incinerator Usage Log – The incinerator was not used at all after the murder, meaning that the killer did not burn any of the evidence. But, if that’s the case, where could the evidence have gone?]

As we entered the cupboard, we were greeted by the overwhelming smell of bleach. I couldn’t help but cough at the strong fumes. Yamaguchi headed straight towards the bottles of bleach and checked them all one by one. As he reached the middle, he picked up a bottle, turned around and displayed it to me as he began to speak.  
“This one’s lid hadn’t been screwed on all the way, so the fumes were leaking out.” He paused for a moment as he lifted the lid and peaked inside the bottle. “It’s also half empty, so someone probably used it recently.” He added, analysing his discovery. I nodded knowingly. I get where he’s coming from, I know exactly what he’s thinking, and I think it’s plausible. As I was about to respond, I noticed something. I gestured for Yamaguchi to step to the side as I walked towards it. A broom was hidden right in the corner, but what caught my attention was the red tinge to the bottom and strong smell of bleach reeking off of it. I picked it up and displayed it to Yamaguchi.  
“I think we both know what this probably means…” I spoke up, fixing my gaze into Yamaguchi’s eyes. Yamaguchi just nodded. I lifted my head slightly, and saw something on the shelf above Yamaguchi’s head. “What’s that?” I asked while pointing to the bottle and object in question. Yamaguchi turned around to see what I was talking about and then reached up to grab them and get a better look at them.  
“Luminol” He read off of the bottle’s label, and then he checked the other object. “And an ultraviolet light…” I instantly perked up after he said that. I knew what luminol did! That would be really helpful during this investigation! I was so happy, I didn’t even bother to wonder why Monokuma had something like that in his cleaning cupboard.  
“Maybe we should head back to the gym, see what we can find there” He suggested, his eyes full of conviction.  
“Yeah, I agree” I affirmed with him, as I placed the broom back down into the corner. As I turned around, Yamaguchi began walking out of the cupboard, luminol in hand, and I followed closely after.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Used Bleach – A half empty bleach was discovered in the cleaning cupboard with its cap not properly screwed on. It was most likely used recently, but what was it used to clean up?  
Blood Stained Mop – A mop was discovered in the cleaning cupboard with some slight blood stains on the bottom. It was clearly used to clean up a murder scene, but where was this murder scene?]

As we re-entered the gym, everyone was split into small groups, each investigating their own thing. Tsukishima saw us and gestured for us to come over to him, which we did. He was on the far right side of the room and seemed focused on one section of the wall. As we approached him, we could smell bleach once again. I couldn’t help but scrunch my nose up at the smell.  
“So, you can smell it too. We know it was used here, but we’re not sure why. We think it was to clean up a murder scene, but we don’t exactly have any proof of that…” Tsukishima muttered as he crossed his arm against his chest and clicked his tongue in irritation. Yamaguchi giggled a little, causing us to focus our attention on him.  
“Looks like we found this at the perfect time, right Hinata?” He asked with a grin on his face, while lifting up the bottle of luminol, displaying it to Tsukishima, Tanaka, Nishinoya, and Suga. They all looked surprised to see such a thing in Yamaguchi’s hands, but they also seemed relieved to have something so helpful on their investigation. I grinned back at Yamaguchi.  
“Oh yeah, perfect! Perhaps we could find that evidence that we need” I said in a sing-song voice as I glanced back at Yamaguchi. Everyone just seemed stunned.  
“Since when have you two been so confident? It’s great!” Nishinoya cheered with a proud smile on his face. We froze at his comment. I guess he’s right… We’re not usually this confident… We’re usually the ones hiding behind someone else… Yeah, maybe he’s right, this is great. I looked over at Yamaguchi to see his reaction, only to see a bright pink blush flushing through the skin underneath his freckles.  
“A-Anyway, where should I spray this?” Yamaguchi quickly asked, changing the subject. Suga chuckled before replying.  
“The smell’s coming from the floor and the wall, so if you spray around this area on to the floor and this area on the wall, you should hopefully find something.” He informed Yamaguchi, gesturing to the areas he was talking about by waving his hand over them. Yamaguchi nodded and began thoroughly spraying the luminol where Suga had told him to, carefully making sure to cover every inch. After a few minutes of spraying, Yamaguchi finally stepped back, and I stepped forward to shine the ultraviolet light on the areas where Yamaguchi had sprayed the luminol. Sure enough, as I shined the light, bright blue splatters appeared on both the wall and floor. I stepped back after the entire area was lit up and we all looked at the scene we had uncovered. But, the stains looked strange.  
“Yachi was hit on the back on the head… How does that leave huge blood stains on the wall and floor?” I asked, voicing my concerns. Tsukishima knitted his eyebrows together as he frowned. Everyone seemed to be lost in thought after I brought that up. I sighed as I tried to think of an explanation, but couldn’t. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a slight commotion by one of the net posts. “Excuse me, I’m gonna see what that’s all about” I excused myself and quickly headed over to see what was going on.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Covered Up Crime Scene – The true place of the victim’s murder was uncovered after luminol was used to uncover any cleaned up blood stains. However, the blood stains are strange when the victim’s injury is taken into account]

As I approached the group, which consisted on Ushijima, Daichi, Kyoutani, and Yahaba, Daichi began to explain what the fuss was about.  
“We’ve discovered a smeared blood stain on here.” He informed me as he pointed to the post. I looked towards the area he was pointing and, sure enough, there was a blood stain, slightly smeared, as if someone had run their hand along the post. But why? As I pondered the possibilities, I looked over at the other guys. Daichi and Ushijima both looked lost in thought, Kyoutani was looking around the room at everyone, almost as if he was keeping an eye on them, and Yahaba was nervously biting his nails and tapping his foot with a troubled look in his eyes. As I looked around, it suddenly clicked.  
“The killer must have got this blood stain here when they were moving the body!” I exclaimed as it suddenly became clear to me.  
“How? They clearly didn’t use the post to move the body.” Kyoutani huffed off with his usual scowl on his face.  
“Some blood must have splattered onto the killer after they hit Yachi, then as they were trying to figure out how to hide the body, they noticed the net. They’d have to untie the net in order to wrap up the body in it.” I explained slowly and clearly. “Although, from the looks of it, the killer didn’t realise that they had got blood here, otherwise they would have cleaned it up too.” I added. Everyone seemed to agree with my idea.  
“But, does knowing that really help with the investigation…?” Yahaba asked, uncertainty clear in his voice.  
“Well, it lets us know that killer hid the body before they started cleaning up… That’s something, at least…” I muttered, rubbing the back of my head. Yahaba bit his nails again and looked to the floor, clearly thinking about something. As I finished speaking, I noticed Kageyama stumbling out of the storage room. Seeing him reminded me that he mentioned going to check up on Yachi. That could be some useful information… I’ll ask him about it.  
“Could you guys search some more around here, just in case there’s any other bits of evidence? I need to ask Kageyama something” I politely requested the small group.  
“Sure thing” Ushijima gave a concise response.  
“Thanks a bunch!” I shouted out as I jogged away from them and towards Kageyama.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Smeared Blood Stain – A smeared blood stain was discovered on one of the net posts in the gymnasium. The killer may have unknowingly got the blood there when preparing to move the body]

“Kageyama!” I yelled out as I approached him. “Do you mind if I ask you something?” I slowed my jogging speed as I got closer to him before stopping right in front of him. Kageyama tilted his head confusion at my question.  
“Sure? What did you wanna know?” He agreed, despite not really knowing what I wanted to talk about.  
“You said that you went to check on Yachi, right? Could you tell me more about that, please?” I asked, explaining what I wanted to know this time. Kageyama’s eyes widened in realisation as he understood what I talking about.  
“Sure” He replied, then crossed his arms and scrunched his face into a frown as he tried to remember what happened yesterday. “She went back to her room at about noon yesterday, and no one saw her after that. We went to check on her at about 1:30PM, but we didn’t get an answer, so we just assumed that she was asleep and headed back to the cafeteria.” 1:30PM… Yachi was already dead at that time… So, she must have left her room at some time between 12:00PM and 12:55PM if she was killed in the Gymnasium at 1:00PM… I closed my eyes as I desperately tried to piece it together.  
“Um” A voice pulled me out of my thoughts. “If you’re talking about Yachi, I saw her briefly before she died…” I quickly whipped my head up after hearing that. It was Yui.  
“Really?! Could you tell me when?! And what happened?! Please, it would be really helpful!” I pleaded, desperate for any information I could get my hands on. Yui nodded before telling me what she saw.  
“It was at about 12:50PM. I was in my room, trying to calm down, when I heard a loud crash and some running footsteps outside. A few seconds later, I heard Yachi call out to them, asking them if they were okay. When I opened my door to see what was going on, the person was running around the corner, so I didn’t see who they were, and Yachi was running after them, trying to help them.” I sighed sadly after hearing that account. That sounds just like Yachi. Even in a situation like this, she was trying her best to help others. “Oh, if it helps, I heard her call out part of their name? But, only one syllable…” Yui added with an embarrassed mumble.  
“Are you kidding? Any kind of lead would be a real help” I reassured her with a relieved sigh.  
“Okay, well, I heard her call out ‘Ya’ but, there’s quite a few people here with that in their names…” She informed me, fiddling with her fingers and averting her gaze as she muttered out that second sentence.  
“It’s better than nothing” Kageyama spoke up, a rare gentle smile on his face, I could help but smile back at him. But, before I could say anything in response, I was interrupted by the monitors flickering on.  
“’Sup, ya lil bastards? I’m getting bored, so get ya lil asses over to the trial grounds. Now. I mean it. Get going. Right this instant. See ya in a bit!” Everyone began murmuring to each other as the monitor abruptly turned off.  
“You’re kidding, right?! We’ve barely had any time to investigate!” I shrieked, panicking. Kageyama placed his hand on my shoulder to calm me down.  
“We should probably just do as he says…” He muttered out dejectedly, and gently tugged at my arm as he began walking towards the door. I reluctantly followed.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Kageyama’s Testimony – The victim left the cafeteria at noon. A small group of people went to go check on her at 1:30PM but received no response  
Yui’s Testimony – The victim was seen chasing an unknown person in an attempt to help them after they suffered a panic attack. While Yui did not see the person’s face, she heard the victim call out ‘Ya’]

The elevator ride was really quiet. The only noise that we really heard was Tanaka and Nishinoya attempting to cheer up Kiyoko by gently whispering encouraging words to her and softly patting her back. It remained that way until the elevator jolted to a halt and the door opened once again.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, let the fourth class trial of our school life of mutual killing… Commence!”


	14. Chapter 4 - Anxiety and Accidents - Class Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I know that this is a short chapter and I'm sorry that it took so long for me to finish it... Basically, I caught the flu, thanks to the cold weather, and then when I recovered from the flu, I got a throat infection... Which was f u n... Also, it'll probably take a while for the new chapter to be written and uploaded, 'cause I'm behind on some of my coursework (Cause of the week off I had while I had the flu) so I need to prioritise that at the moment. Sorry about this, and I really hope you guys understand. Seriously, though, sorry.

Once again, we positioned ourselves behind our respective podiums. It had almost become an instinct now. I glanced towards Yachi’s podium which, as I thought, had one of those sickening portraits with a red cross painted over it. I had to avert my gaze before I started crying again.  
“Okie dokie! Today, we’re here to find the despicable killer who snuffed out the light of the wonderfully adorable Karasuno manager-in-training, Hitoka Yachi! I’m not in the mood to make a huge speech about it, so get going already!" Monokuma chimed out, dismissively waving his paw as he leaned back into his seat.  
“I personally would like to start with how Yachi died” I announced immediately. Everyone stared at me in shock.  
“W-Why?” Yahaba stuttered out, confusion obvious on his face.  
“Because the Monokuma file stated that she had died from blunt force trauma, but we didn’t find a single weapon that could have been used. And, on top of that, the blood stains at the scene are way too big for someone being hit on the back of the head.” I explained with a determined scowl on my face. None of this made sense to me, but I wanted to understand. And I wanted to know what actually happened. Some of the others nodded in agreement with my suggestion.  
“So, what exactly was weird about the blood stains at the scene?” Matsukawa asked, leaning on his podium.  
“Like I said, they’re too big. If you hit someone on the back of the head, sure some blood would splatter on the nearby surfaces, but nowhere near that much. Plus, the blood was on both the wall and floor. I don’t understand how a head wound could leave that much blood…” I explained, looking down as I tried to piece it together.  
“Well, I don’t really know the answer to the blood on the wall… But, I think that maybe the blood on the floor probably came from Yachi falling onto to the floor. I mean, if she died standing up, there’s no way she would stay standing up: Her body would go limp and she’d fall. As she fell, her head probably hit the floor, right?” Sugawara spoke up, sharing his opinion. Yeah… That made a lot of sense, but it still didn’t explain the blood on the wall… I stared down at my feet as I tried to make sense of the scene we discovered. I thought back to the condition Yachi’s body was in. Her head looked like it had been hit multiple times and she had those huge bruises on her arms… Oh. It makes sense now. My eyes widened and I looked back up as it suddenly clicked in my mind.  
“What? What is it?” Kageyama asked urgently.  
“We didn’t find a weapon ‘cause there was no weapon.” I answered blandly, slightly star-struck at my realisation.  
“W-Wait! What are you talking about?!” Yahaba yelled out, looking at me as if I’d gone insane.  
“When you take into account the blood stains on the floor and wall, and the bruises on her arms, it’s the only logical explanation.” I stated simply.  
“Yeah, but we won’t understand if you don’t give us an explanation” Tsukishima retorted, slightly irritated.  
“O-Oh, right, sorry about that…” I sheepishly apologised before explaining my thoughts. “The reason why I don’t think there’s a weapon, is that I think that the killer slammed Yachi’s head against the wall.” Everyone’s eyes widened in shock, so I continued. “It would explain the blood stains on the wall. If Yachi was hit with a weapon, nowhere near as much blood would be there, and then the blood stains on the floor would be caused by Yachi’s body collapsing onto the floor. Finally, the bruises on her arms are from the killer holding her body as they were slamming her head against the wall, I mean, if they were holding her arms, they made it more difficult for her to fight back, right?”

No one knew how to process what I had just said. They stood there in complete shock. Unable to comprehend what had happened to poor, sweet, gentle girl that we all knew and loved. After a few minutes, Monokuma spoke up.  
“Uhhhhhh, guys? You do realise that a debate requires you to talk, right? So, y’know, get talking!” That helped us snap back into reality.  
“Okay, um, I know that it’s pretty obvious what happened, but I’d like to talk about when the killer cleaned up the scene, y’know, just to cover all of the bases…” Yamaguchi awkwardly spoke up. Everyone nodded in agreement, believing it was better to cover the obvious parts as well, rather than forgetting important facts.  
“Well, we know that the killer moved Yachi’s body before they cleaned up the blood, because the net post had a smeared blood stain on it.” Daichi announced, his hand placed on his chin in thought. Ushijima silently nodded to confirm Daichi’s statement.  
“So, first, the killer lowered the net and placed it on the floor, then brought Yachi’s body over to the net, rolled it up with her body inside it and placed it in the Storage Room, right?” Tendou listed the events in the order he believed they occurred in.  
“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Sugawara confirmed positively.  
“Soooo, what happened after that?” Matsukawa asked, crossing his arms.  
“The killer headed over to the Trash Room’s Cleaning Cupboard to collect a bucket of water, a broom, and some bleach, then headed back to the gym to clean up all of the blood on the wall and floor. Then, after they finished, the returned the half empty bottle of bleach, bucket and broom to the Cleaning Cupboard. It’s obvious that they tried to clean the blood off of the broom, since the blood stains were much paler than they would normally be, but since there were still blood stains, it seems that they gave up after a while.” Yamaguchi gave his report on what happened, based on the evidence that we had collected together.  
“All of that does sound reasonable… It’s just… How did no one spot them while they were moving between the Gymnasium and the Cleaning Cupboard?” Hanamaki asked, scratching his head, lost in thought. Huh. That’s a fair point. How did no one see them?  
“Well, to be fair, most of us were in the cafeteria when it happened…” Tanaka awkwardly mumbled out.  
“True… Okay then, who wasn’t in the Cafeteria when it happened?” I asked, raising my own hand as I spoke. The other people who raised their hands were Yui, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Yahaba.  
“Okay then, did any of you see anything?” Sugawara asked, leaning forward in anticipation.  
“No, I didn’t, I was in my room, asleep…” I answered awkwardly, slightly embarrassed to be no help.  
“Nah, Kageyama and I were in the dorm area, checking on Hinata.” Nishinoya answered clearly, and Kageyama muttering out a confirmation of Nishinoya’s statement.  
“I didn’t see anything… I was stuck in the boy’s toilets because I wasn’t feeling well…” Yahaba murmured, averting his eyes from the rest of us. I can understand that. He probably didn’t wanna share that…  
“I didn’t see anything either… I was in my room, trying to calm down…” Yui stated, sighing slightly. Silence filled the courtroom once again. All of this information, and we still had no idea who the killer was…

The silence continued as everyone tried to think of a way that we could track down the killer. I desperately thought over the evidence, trying to uncover something that would point towards the killer’s identity in any way. That’s when I suddenly remembered.  
“Yui! You said you saw Yachi run after the killer, right?!” I interrogated her excitedly, hoping she’d know what I was talking about. Yui’s eyebrows knitted together as she tried to remember what she told me before suddenly widening as she finally remembered.  
“Oh! Of course! I heard someone running down the hallway, so I opened my door and saw Yachi running after whoever it was, and I heard her call out part of their name: ‘Ya’” She explained to everyone else to catch them up on what the two of us already knew.  
“That’s brilliant, Michimiya! Now we’ve just gotta narrow down the suspects and check their alibis” Daichi cheered, causing Yui’s cheeks to flush a deep pink.  
“Okay… So, there’s… Yamaguchi, Kageyama, Nishinoya, Michimiya, and Yahaba, right?” Sugawara listed all of the possible suspects, causing all of them to flinch nervously. “So, if you’ve got alibis, please share them with us.”  
“I can vouch for Yamaguchi. He was sat right next to me in the cafeteria when it happened.” Tsukishima spoke up instantly. A few other murmured in agreement, also testifying for Yamaguchi.  
“Tsukki…” Yamaguchi whispered out, a grateful smile on his face. Tsukishima looked away.  
“Shut up, Yamaguchi”  
“Sorry, Tsukki!”  
“Well, I can vouch for Nishinoya and Hinata. Hinata left his door unlocked so we went inside and found him asleep.” Kageyama spoke up with a serious look on his face. Wait, I thought I locked my door?! Oh god, I’m lucky it was Kageyama and Nishinoya who were the ones that found out… Kageyama noticed the anxious look on my face and spoke up again. “You really should be more careful, dumbass…” I gave a sheepish nod in response. Wait, why was Kageyama vouching for me anyway? I don’t have a ‘Ya’ in either my first or last name… Is he just worried about me, or something? Or is it because my first name has ‘Yo’? I dunno… It’s probably nothing.  
“By the way, we can vouch for Yui as well. We left Hinata’s room when we heard that person running through the dorm area, and saw her stood by her room’s door.” Nishinoya added, smiling slightly at Yui, as if he was happy to help her.  
“Yeah, and I can vouch for Kageyama and Nishinoya because I saw them leave Hinata’s room as Yachi was running around the corner.” Yui added in response.  
After they had all revealed their alibis, everyone focused their attention onto Yahaba.  
“Well, what about you, Yahaba?” Matsukawa asked, tilting his head slightly as if he was anticipating his answer. Yahaba flinched when his name was said.  
“I-I told you… I was stuck in the boy’s toilets with an upset stomach…” He muttered half-heartedly as he lowered his head to look at the floor.  
“Yeah, but you don’t have anyone who can confirm that, do you?” Tendou brought up, in an almost jeering tone. “I’m just saying, unless you have someone who can say so, how are we supposed to believe you?” He added while shrugging nonchalantly. Yahaba grimaced at those words.  
“Y’know, Yahaba, you’ve actually been acting strange ever since we discovered the body…” I reluctantly spoke up. Yahaba’s head quickly lifted up and looked me right in the eye.  
“S-Strange? Strange how?” He anxiously asked.  
“W-Well, like that… You’ve been really nervous constantly… Looking away from us, biting your nails, anxiously asking questions, and you barely participated in the discussion…” I listed, slightly worried about his possible reaction. His anxious behaviour was honestly scaring me a little bit. Yahaba wasn’t saying anything, he was trying to, but he just couldn’t find the words to say. Frightened tears began to stream from his eyes as he began breathing quicker. Eventually, he covered his sobbing face with his hands and spoke up.  
“O-Okay… I admit it… I did it… I killed Yachi…” He muttered out between sobs as his body collapsed onto the floor. “I-It was an a-accident… I d-didn’t mean to… to do it…”

Everyone was silent after Yahaba’s tearful confession. No one knew what to say. I glanced over at Kiyoko. She was letting out a sigh with her eyes closed. Her eyelashes seemed to be slightly wet. She seemed glad that we had found Yachi’s killer, but she was obviously still upset about losing her. After a few minutes thinking about it I finally spoke.  
“Yahaba. What caused you to kill Yachi… It was the anxiety drug, wasn’t it?” I asked him quietly, worried that I’d upset him even more. Yahaba gasped as he looked up at me with regretful eyes and a tear stained face.  
“Y-Yeah, it was… I ran into the gymnasium, after feeling overwhelmed and Yachi had followed me, ‘cause she wanted to help me… It didn’t really work, though… The more she talked to me, the more I panicked. All I can remember was yelling at her about my fear of never escaping and shaking her shoulders… I blacked out just after that, I can’t remember what happened… W-When I came to… There was blood all over the wall and my hands and Yachi’s limp body in my grasp… I-I thought that maybe I could resuscitate her, a-and I tried, but nothing happened, s-so I panicked and hid her body…” He rambled nervously in between sobs and gasps for air. After he had finished, He grabbed his head with his hands and began shaking it furiously, as if he was trying to block out the memory. No one said anything, until Kyoutani spoke up.  
“Stop blaming yourself, t’s not your fault. It’s that fuzzy bastard’s fault.” He growled, as he glared at Monokuma.  
“Who, me? How rude! I mean, lil old me wouldn’t even hurt a fly…” Monokuma feigned innocence.  
“That’s bullshit, and you know it.” Kyoutani snarled back, clenching his fist.  
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, you wannabe delinquent… Anyway! You guys found the killer! Congrats, punks! Soooooooooo… Now that we’ve got the killer, it’s execution time! Yay! My favourite part!” Monokuma cheered as he began jumping up and down, clapping his paws excitedly. Yahaba’s eyes snapped wide open in terror.  
“Please, no…” He barely whispered out as he stared at the floor with blank eyes.  
“Tooooooo baaaaaaaad, kiddo! You killed, and now it’s your turn to be killed! Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Aoba Jousai’s Captain-to-be, Shigeru Yahaba! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s Punishment Time!”

[G A M E O V E R  
Y A H A B A H A S B E E N F O U N D G U I L T Y  
T H E P U N I S H M E N T W I L L N O W C O M M E N C E]

The execution was quiet and empty. Too quiet. Too empty. Yahaba clearly thought the same thing as he cautiously walked across the bland landscape with a worried expression on his face. He kept moving his head from side to side, as if he were surveying the area, searching for any signs of danger. The longer nothing happened, the more paranoid he got… Then Monokuma finally decided to strike. As Yahaba took another step forward a net suddenly sprung up from underneath the floor, ensnaring Yahaba within it and pulling him up into the air. Yahaba instantly panicked and tried to free himself, yet failed as all of his limbs became tangled up within the ropes. He began frantically looking around, most likely searching for both a way to escape and where danger was most likely to come from. As he continued struggling to break free, an arrow suddenly shot out from the corner of the room and pierced through his thigh. He let out a scream of pain and barely had enough time to react as more arrows began flying at him, piercing his hand, his shoulder, his back, his stomach, his neck, there was no safe area. The arrows continued flying from all directions into Yahaba’s already limp body. When the arrows finally stopped, all that was left was the unidentifiable heap that used to be Yahaba, the blood pouring from the net down to the floor, and the bright red net that was originally white.

Everyone was silent. We had unfortunately gotten used to sights like this. That didn’t mean that it didn’t still hurt. It hurt so much. We had just learned to hold our feelings in. That didn’t stop the tears from falling down my face, though. I glanced over at the three remaining Seijou members. Matsukawa had his eyes squeezed shut in a grimace, Hanamaki had his hand placed over his eyes, most likely to hide his tears, and Kyoutani had his back towards the execution grounds and his head hanging down, facing the floor. Monokuma burst out and began his usual babble. But, I didn’t wanna listen to it, so I just ignored him and began walking towards the elevator, and everyone else followed after me.  
“Wow, rude! Just ignore me, why don’t you?!” Monokuma yelled out, failing his arms around wildly in an attempt to catch our attention. We didn’t care, though. We just glanced at him with unimpressed eyes and then pressed the elevator’s button, causing the door to shut in his face.

We all rode the elevator and walked back to our dorms in complete silence. I couldn’t tell if it was because nobody wanted to talk or if nobody knew what to say. For me, it was a combination of the two. When I finally reached my dorm room, I gently pushed the door shut and lent on it, letting out a big sigh. I suddenly remembered what Kageyama said during the trial, so I locked my door, just to make sure that I definitely did it. I then dragged myself towards my bed and collapsed onto it, face first. As I buried myself underneath the covers, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself.

“When is all of this gonna end?”


	15. Chapter 5 - Friends, Rivals and The Dearly Departed - Daily Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyyy, look who finally updated! I've finally caught up on all of my coursework, but I'll probably still take a while to update. Honestly, school's been putting a lot of pressure on me recently, and thanks to that, I've got practically no motivation. But, I've got a two week break coming up soon, so hopefully some rest should help me regain some motivation. Sorry for making you wait for so long.

My eyes slowly opened as I regained consciousness after a night’s sleep. I lied there, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes before rubbing my eyes and dragging myself out of bed. I knew that just laying there and feeling depressed wasn’t going to change anything, so I just had to suck it up and move on. I ruffled my hair to quickly sort out whatever kind of bed head I had and opened the door to leave. As I stepped outside my room, I almost bumped into Tsukishima. He froze as he noticed me, then gave me a greeting in the form of a slight nod, which I reciprocated as the two of us began walking to the cafeteria together. He seemed quieter than usual. I quickly glanced over at him to see what the matter was, and noticed he was staring at door of Yachi’s room.  
“You okay?” I quietly asked him as I leaned forward slightly. He flinched slightly as I suddenly spoke up and caught his attention. He sighed and glanced back at Yachi’s door before focusing his attention on me.  
“It’s just… Weird to think she’s gone, y’know?” He muttered absent-mindedly as he scratched the back of his neck. I knew exactly what he meant. At practise, she was always there, right next to Kiyoko, chatting and giggling as they kept track of the scores, giving all of us drinks and towels when we were on breaks, making sure we were all feeling okay, cheering us on at our matches… And now, she’s just… Gone.  
“Yeah… I know what you mean…” I sighed in response. After that, we made our way to the cafeteria in complete silence, with only the sound of our footsteps echoing through the corridor.

For the first time in quite a while, I wasn’t the last one there. Everyone except Yamaguchi and Kiyoko were there. Tsukishima seemed a little unnerved when he noticed Yamaguchi’s absence.  
“I’ll go back and check on him.” He quickly announced before heading back towards the door.  
“Wait, I’ll go with you, I wanna make sure Kiyoko’s okay.” Yui spoke up as she rose up from her seat and began walking towards Tsukishima. After she caught up to him, the two of them exited the cafeteria and headed back towards the dorm area. As they disappeared from our sight, I went and took a seat next to Tanaka and Nishinoya. They seemed happy to see. Tanaka placed his hand on my head and gently ruffled my hair.  
“You doing okay, Hinata?” He asked, slight concern in his voice.  
“Yeah, I mean, you were one of the closest to Yachi, after all.” Nishinoya added while patting my back.  
“Yeah, I’m fine, well, I mean, I’m as fine as I can be…” I replied, forcing a smile onto my face. The two of them sighed and flashed understanding smiles at me.  
“That’s good to hear. Just remember, if you need any help or someone to talk to, you can always come to us. We’re your senpai, after all!” Tanaka informed me, grinning slightly. Nishinoya enthusiastically nodded his head in agreement.  
“Thanks, that means a lot.” I thanked them while giggling slightly. It was nice to know that they’d always be there for me, and besides, they always managed to cheer me up. As our conversation finished, Tsukishima entered the cafeteria again, this time, gently dragging Yamaguchi by the arm. Yamaguchi yawned and rubbed his eyes.  
“Sorry, everyone, I only just woke up when Tsukki came to get me.” He apologised, bowing slightly. When he lifted his head, I noticed that his eyes were red and slightly swollen. Regardless he continued smiling at Tsukishima as the two of them took their seats. It seemed that Tanaka and Nishinoya had noticed Yamaguchi’s eyes too, as they quickly glanced at each other with concerned looks on their faces. But, they didn’t say anything, they just kept glancing over at Yamaguchi to make sure he was okay. A few minutes later, Yui and Kiyoko entered the cafeteria, Yui with her arm around Kiyoko and her hand softly patting her shoulder, and Kiyoko looking down at the floor.  
“I’m sorry for keeping you all waiting” She muttered half-heartedly. “I’ll make us some breakfast now.” She continued as she began walking towards the kitchen.  
“Wait, Shimizu! I’ll help out, there’s no need for you to do all of that by yourself.” Sugawara quickly called out as he leapt up from his seat and jogged over to Kiyoko.  
“Yeah, I’ll help out too!” Nishinoya and Tanaka called out in unison, leaping up with enthusiasm.  
“I’ll help too.” Tsukishima stated blandly while slowly standing up from his seat and casually walking towards the kitchen. A slight smile appeared on Kiyoko’s face.  
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you.” She expressed her gratitude, then continued walking to the kitchen, with Tanaka and Nishinoya bombarding her with compliments, hoping that it’d make her feel better. I smiled gently at the scene. To be honest, I was considering to offer to help make breakfast, but I’m not really all that great at cooking… So, I doubt I would have been much help anyway… I sighed quietly and leaned back into my seat. I stared up at the ceiling, since there wasn’t really anything else to do. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Yamaguchi shifting his chair closer to me. I turned my head to look directly at him and casually waved at him. He waved back as he placed his chair next to mine.  
“You okay?” I asked him as he sat down. He smiled weakly and muttered out a small  
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I stared at him with disbelieving eyes. His eyes were still slightly red and puffy. It seemed that he realised that I didn’t believe him, as he spoke up again. “Well, I’m not fine… But, I’m better than I was yesterday, at least…” I softly patted him on the back.  
“It’s okay, I feel exactly the same way. Although, thinking about it, I don’t Yachi would like seeing us sad… I mean, I remember how freaked out she was when Kageyama and I had that fight at Karasuno… So, I think we should all carry on doing our best for her, y’know?” As I realised how cheesy that sounded, I began blushing and quickly covered my face with my hand. “W-Well, I… I mean, well, y’know, uh-” Yamaguchi quickly cut me off.  
“No, you’re right, that is probably what she would want… Thanks Hinata.” Yamaguchi had a fond smile on his face as he said that. The sincerity of his words made me blush even more. Before I could respond, the group who were making breakfast reappeared from the kitchen, carrying plenty of food with them. Kiyoko came and placed a large plate on the table next to Yamaguchi and me. As she leaned forward, she spoke in a soft voice.  
“I heard everything you said to Yamaguchi, thank you, Hinata” She had a relieved smile and small tears in her eyes as she stood up straight again and walked away. I didn’t really know how to respond. Was I talking so loud that she could hear me from the kitchen? Oh wait, I was sat pretty close to the kitchen door… I guess it’s not such a crazy idea that she heard me… I kept trying to think of a response until Yamaguchi placed his hand on my shoulder.  
“At least you made her feel happy again, that’s all the really matters.” He told me with a gentle grin on his face, a slight blush illuminating his freckles.  
“Yeah… I guess you’re right.” I said as I let out a relieved chuckle. We were both pulled out of our thoughts by Tsukishima sitting down next to Yamaguchi.  
“Well? What’re you guys waiting for? Eat. Everyone else is already.” He asked us expectantly. Yamaguchi and I glanced across the tables, to notice everyone else already eating away. Seeing this, we immediately reached for the food on the plates in front of us and dug in.

After everyone had finished eating, Daichi stood up and spoke up.  
“Okay, so once again, some rooms have been unlocked, and I think we should investigate them. These rooms are the remaining rooms on the third floor: The Prop Storage Room, The Computer Lab, and The Textiles Room. Since there’s fifteen of us, I’d suggest splitting into three groups of five.” He announced in an authoritive tone. After he had finished speaking, everyone began organising themselves into groups. Before I could even take a single step, Kageyama grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him. Despite all my protesting, he still carried on pulling me along until we reached the group he clearly wanted us to be a part of, and then pushed me forward. The people who were already there were Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Nishinoya. Well, I was completely fine with this group, but just why the hell was Kageyama so insistent that I join?  
“Welp, looks like this group’s sorted out! Just gotta wait for everyone else now.” Nishinoya cheerfully spoke up. Yamaguchi looked around at everyone in our group.  
“Well, I just think it’s nice that all of us first years are together, y’know?” He said in a sweet, gentle voice, with a cute smile on his face.  
“Don’t forget your good ol’ senpai!” Nishinoya enthusiastically reminded him as he put him a playful headlock and ruffled his hair. Yamaguchi could only laugh.  
“Trust me, no one will ever be able to forget you, Nishinoya-senpai.” I assured him while trying to hold in my giggles.  
“Good! That’s exactly what I wanna hear!” Nishinoya announced with a proud grin on his face while releasing Yamaguchi from his grip. As we were about to continue our conversation, we were interrupted by Daichi making another announcement.  
“Okay! It looks like everyone is in a group now! So, come over here and we’ll discuss who’s gonna investigate which room.” All of the members looked at each other before heading over to Daichi to find out which room we’ve been assigned to.

We were assigned to investigate the computer lab. Although, I honestly doubt there’d be much else in a computer lab besides, well, computers. Once again, we had to drag ourselves up those huge flights of stairs and were practically half dead by the time we reached the third floor.  
“W…Why… do the stairs… have to be so… long?” Tsukishima huffed, clearly irritated. No one responded to him. He slowly controlled his breathing and stood up, glaring at Nishinoya and I. “And how come you two still look fine?” He asked, again, irritated, and also confused. Nishinoya and I just looked at each other. What was Tsukishima talking about? Neither of us knew. Kageyama coughed as he straightened himself up.  
“They have ridiculous amounts of stamina, you trained with them every day, you should know that by now, you dumbass” He huffed dismissively. Oh. That’s what they were talking about. Well, I mean, sure I’m not as tired as them, but I’m still pretty tired… Tsukishima scowled and shot a quick glare at Kageyama before composing himself and plastered his usual smug fake smile on his face.  
“Oh! Of course! How could I forget? Please, do excuse me, your highness~” He responded in an overdramatic mocking voice. Kageyama glared back at him.  
“DON’T call me that.” He snarled viciously, with his usual scowl on his face.  
“H-Hey! The room should be along that corridor, let’s go check it out!” Yamaguchi quickly announced to break up the fight before it even began and sped down the corridor to escape the tension between Kageyama and Tsukishima. Tsukishima just clicked his tongue and sauntered off after Yamaguchi. Even after Tsukishima had walked off, Kageyama was still scowling. I couldn’t help but debate if I should talk to Kageyama or not. I mean, I really want him to calm down, but still… He’s scary when he’s mad, what do want from me?! In the end, I didn’t even need to talk to him, as Nishinoya slapped him on the back and dragged him along by his sleeve.  
“Less sulking, more investigating, let’s get to it! You too, Shoyo!” He called out enthusiastically, with his usual cheerful grin on his face. Nishinoya really is amazing. He lost two of his closest friends in this place, but he’s still moving on, smiling and laughing and helping everyone. Yet, I lose people that I didn’t even know too well, and I lock myself up in my room and cry… I… I really wish I was more like Nishinoya… As I was thinking that, I realised that Nishinoya and Kageyama were still waiting for me.  
“Right!” I called out as I began jogging towards them, and towards the computer lab, where I desperately hoped would be a clue to escaping.

As we entered the computer lab, we saw exactly what we expected to see. Computers. Lots and lots of computers lined up desks, row by row. I noticed that there was also a little repair area near the front of the room, with plenty of spare parts and tools to fix the computers with. Along with a door labelled ‘Server Room’ right next to it.  
“Well, if there’s any helpful information in this room, it’ll be on a computer.” Nishinoya announced nonchalantly, placing his hands on his hips.  
“But, how do we figure out which computers have information on them?” Yamaguchi asked anxiously, looking around the room.  
“I guess we’ll just have to check all of them.” Kageyama replied bluntly, a blank expression on his face.  
“That’s gonna take forever…” Tsukishima sighed in annoyance, rubbing his temples. I knew exactly how Tsukishima felt. This was gonna be such a pain…  
“Well, I guess we might as well get started, then…” I huffed as I took a seat in front of a computer and turned it on. “We’ll work from the back to the front. There’s ten computers on each row, and there’s five rows. So each of us will check ten computers, is that okay with you guys?” I continued, as I stared at the computer’s start-up screen. Nobody responded so I looked up at them to see them staring at me with disbelief.  
“Hinata… did math?” Kageyama gasped. I couldn’t help but pout. Was it really that hard to believe that I did simple math?!  
“Just shut up and get to work already…” I muttered as I turned my attention back to the computer, which had loaded and was on its desktop. The first thing I noticed was that there was no internet connection, so I got up and went to check the server room.  
“…Oh.” That was all I could say.  
“What’s up, Shoyo?” Nishinoya asked, leaning to side to see past the computer monitor.  
“Yeah… We’re not gonna be getting any internet… At all…” I sighed out as I grimaced at the scene. The entire group of servers and routers in the room were completely smashed to bits, beyond any point of repair. There was no way that we were gonna get a connection out of any of these…  
“Of course not, that would make this too easy…” Tsukishima huffed out in irritation, rolling his eyes. I knew exactly what he meant. It was irritating, the lengths the mastermind is willing to go to mess with us. I sighed, shut the door to the, now pointless, server room and made my way back over to the computer I was investigating. After I sat down, I checked everything that I could on it: documents, photos, music, videos. It didn’t matter. I just wanted to find something, anything that could help us. But, the computer was completely empty. Nothing was on it. I sighed and turned it off then headed to the next computer to investigate. Tsukishima was right… This really is gonna take a while…

I checked all of the other computers that I was assigned to. Nothing. Well, nothing that would help us. Some had some schoolwork from old students, some had photos of students having fun with their friends, and others had videos made by the students. But, honestly, that’s what seemed kinda weird to me… I mean, everything on those computers was made by students of this school, but, where are the students? There’s no way that they all disappeared at once. And if they did, there’s no way that no one would know about it. I mean, a whole school of students disappearing? Surely that would make the news… I scratched the back of head as I tried to think it over. No good… I had no idea… I sighed as Kageyama and Yamaguchi walked towards me. I raised my hand to greet them.  
“Hey, you guys finished too?” I asked, half yawning.  
“Yeah” They replied in unison.  
“You find anything helpful?” I asked hopefully. They both shook their heads.  
“All I found was photos and videos of old students.” Yamaguchi informed me.  
“There was just schoolwork and music playlists on the ones I looked at.” Kageyama huffed in irritation. I knew how he felt. It’s annoying to check so many computers and find nothing. I sighed again and looked over at Tsukishima and Nishinoya who were still hard at work on their final computer. Tsukishima was resting his head on his hand with a bored expression on his face, whereas Nishinoya was scowling at the computer screen in determination. After a while, Tsukishima sighed and leaned back in his chair, then leaned down to turn the computer off.  
“Absolutely nothing.” He huffed as he walked over to us.  
“That makes another one…” I mumbled half-heartedly.  
“Don’t worry about it, Tsukki!” Yamaguchi exclaimed, in an attempt to cheer Tsukishima up, although Tsukishima didn’t really pay attention. He was too busy stretching after being sat down for so long. As we chatted amongst ourselves, Nishinoya suddenly spoke up.  
“What… the…?” He muttered in confusion as he stared at the computer screen.  
“What’s up? You find something?” I asked as the rest of us walked over to him to see what he had discovered.  
“Just this really weird note… Some of its just complete gibberish, and then there’s some sections of actual writing… ‘Eagle’s revenge’ Uh… ‘Trapped in this cage’ let’s see… ‘One by one they disappear’ Um… ‘Nothing left but their blood staining the surroundings’… It all just makes no sense and honestly sounds kinda insane…” He explained with an unnerved look on his face. The rest of us read through the note as Nishinoya slowly scrolled through it.  
“Wait, doesn’t this scenario sound kinda familiar?” Tsukishima suddenly asked.  
“What do you mean?” I asked, genuinely confused. I had no idea what he meant by that.  
“These parts: ‘Trapped in this cage, one by one they disappear, nothing left by their blood staining the surroundings’ Think about our situation: We’re trapped, locked in this school, people have been disappearing one by one, cause they’ve been killed, and then their bodies are removed after we’ve finished investigating.” He explained his thought process to us. It suddenly clicked. He was absolutely right. It sounded exactly like our situation.  
“So, does that mean that this was written by the person behind all of this?” I asked, completely unsure.  
“I honestly don’t know, it’s probably a possibility, though…” He replied, with the most serious face I’ve ever seen him make. It went silent after he said that. Everyone seemed to be lost in thought.  
“W-Well that was the only thing of importance on the computer, so I guess I should just turn it off now, and we should head back to cafeteria! I mean, we’ve been in here for quite a while, we’ve probably kept everyone waiting!” Nishinoya suddenly announced, breaking the uncomfortable silence.  
“Oh shit, you’re probably right…” Kageyama muttered in surprise. Nishinoya was right, I hadn’t realised how long we had been looking through all of the computers. So, as soon as Nishinoya turned off the computer, we all quickly rushed back down the stairs to the cafeteria.

Not surprisingly, we were the last group there.  
“Sorry to keep you waiting!” Yamaguchi gasped out, slightly winded from running down three flights of stairs.  
“Its fine, the second group only got here ten minutes ago, so we weren’t waiting that long.” Sugawara reassured us, waving his hand dismissively. That’s good to hear… I let out a relieved sigh as I took a seat. As me and the rest of my group sat down, Daichi stood up.  
“Well, now that everyone’s here, let’s start sharing our reports. I’ll go first: my group, which consisted of me, Sugawara, Tanaka, Shimizu, and Michimiya, was assigned to investigate the Props Storage Room. There wasn’t a lot in there, just some costumes, props, and some extra curtains and lights, just in case the ones on stage get broken. There wasn’t really anything important in there, however some of the props are very heavy, so if you’re gonna move them, be careful. We don’t want an accident.” As he finished his report, he slowly sat back down. He didn’t say it, but we all knew what he meant by ‘accident’ and he was right, we don’t want another situation like that… As I was lost in thought, Ushijima stood up.  
“I’ll go next: my group, which consisted of Matsukawa, Hanamaki, Kyoutani, Tendou, and myself, was assigned to investigate the Textiles Room. There wasn’t much of importance in there, aside from a rather disturbing sewn design depicting a murder. However, this room also contains multiple sharp objects, such as needles and scissors. There’s also multiple sewing machines, so I would recommend caution if you decide to enter this room.” He stated, matter-of-factly. As soon as finished, he sat back down. Yeah, we should probably be careful in that room… Although, I honestly can’t think of a reason why I would go in there. I’m not really interested in sewing. I guess I don’t need to worry then. Then, it was just my group left to make their report. No one was standing up, so I decided that I might as well do it myself. I stood up, took a breath and began to give my report.  
“My group, which was made up of me, Kageyama, Yamaguchi, Tsukishima, and Nishinoya, was assigned to investigate the computer lab. We checked all fifty of the computers there, but all we found on them were schoolwork, music playlists, photos and videos of old students, and a weird, creepy note that Nishinoya found. It didn’t really make sense, but it seemed to describe the situation we’re in right now. There’s also a corner full of parts and tools to fix the computers, so I’d probably be careful around those. And, there was also a server room, but there’s no way that we’ll be able to connect to the internet, ‘cause everything in there was smashed to bits.” I finished my report and quickly sat down. Everyone was silent for a while, then Kyoutani suddenly spoke up.  
“So, we get three new rooms to looks through, and all that we find is two creepy things and no clues on how to get out of here? The mastermind’s just fucking with us.” He snarled, clearly very irritated. He was right. They were clearly messing with us. They were probably hiding somewhere, laughing at us right now. But, once again, like clockwork, once we had finished sharing our findings, a certain plushie decided to interrupt us.  
“Hey hey hey, everybody! How’re y’all doing? You doing good? Good!” He cheered in his usual annoying voice.  
“What now?” Tsukishima grunted, a scowl covering his face as he crossed his arms.  
“Geeeeez, that’s kinda rude, dontcha think? Aaaaaaanyways! Guess what, guys? I have another motive for youuu! How lovely!” Monokuma carried on, nonchalantly, waving his arms around dramatically. Oh god… Not again… I don’t want to do this anymore… No one said anything, we all just looked away from the bear. “Hmmmm… I’ll take your silence as delight! Sooooo, here ya go! There’s one for you and one for you! Ooh! And especially one for you!” Monokuma carried on excitedly and began handing out envelopes to everyone.  
“W-What is this?” I asked, nervously. I honestly wasn’t sure if I wanted to know what it was, so I don’t know why I asked.  
“Open it and see!” Monokuma exclaimed as he handed out the last few envelopes. I reluctantly and slowly opened the envelope. There was one small sheet in there. Cautiously, I slid it out of the envelope to take a look at it. It… was a photo… Okay? I recognised the people in the photo.  
“Kenma?” I absent-mindedly said out loud. Lev and Inuoka were in it too. It was a nice picture. Lev and Inouka were on either side of Kenma with their usual excited grins. Lev had a cat on his head, for some reason? And then there were Kenma in the middle, he had an awkward smile on his face, and one hand raised slightly in a small peace sign, and you could still see his PS Vita in his other hand. They obviously forced Kenma into the picture. I couldn’t help but smile at the sight on it. But, why would Monokuma give me this? And what does this have to do with a motive?  
“Well, whaddya think? Nice pictures, aren’t they? And the people in them? They’re great, too! Sure would be a shame if something horrible happened to them, wouldn’t it?” Monokuma suggested innocently. Fear suddenly shot through my entire body. No. No no no. He wouldn’t. He wouldn’t, would he?! I spun round to look at him, and he just had his usual sadistic grin plastered on his face. I looked at everyone else. They were just as freaked out as I was.  
“T-T-There’s no way…” I mumbled out, anxiety easily getting the better of me. Monokuma laughed before responding in the most threatening tone I’ve ever heard.  
“Wanna bet?” And with that, he began to walk out the room. “Have fun, figuring out what you wanna do! Oh, and by the way, you have three days, including today. Nothing happens in those three days… And, well, who could say what will happen to the people in those photos?” All we could hear as he left the room was his sadistic cackle echoing through the hallways.

Everyone had gone back to their rooms in silence, including me. It was late at night now but I couldn’t get to sleep. I was just lying there, staring at the photo of Kenma, Lev, and Inuoka. I had no idea what to do. I didn’t want to murder anyone, but if I didn’t, wouldn’t that mean that their deaths would be my fault? I had no idea what to do. I hated this feeling. I was completely helpless. It was a lose-lose situation. Monokuma had the upper hand, and he clearly knew it. He was enjoying messing with us. It was obvious that he was enjoying this. It pissed me off how he could so easily mess with us and we couldn’t fight back at all. As I was thinking this, my eyelids began to feel heavy and before I had even realised it, I had drifted off to sleep.

I felt ridiculously groggy when I woke up the next morning. I didn’t even need to look in a mirror to know how terrible I looked. I rubbed my eyes to get the stuff outta them and wiped any drool away from my mouth. After that I fought with my hair to at least make myself look presentable, then I finally left my room and headed towards the cafeteria at my own pace. When I got there, everyone seemed to calm down from their tense mood. I was confused.  
“We were so worried about you!” Yui exclaimed. I was even more confused. It must have been evident on my face because Sugawara spoke up.  
“You do realise that it’s 11:30AM right?” He leaned forward expectantly as he spoke.  
“Wait what?!” I exclaimed in surprise. Seriously?! When did it get that late?! I looked around at everyone, who mostly seemed to be laughing at my reaction, except Kageyama who seemed slightly pissed off.  
“So, are you saying that, the reason you weren’t answering your door, and the reason we were panicking about whether or not you were okay… Was because you were still asleep?” He asked slowly, tapping his finger against his arm.  
“Um… Well… Yeah…” I awkwardly admitted. Kageyama just sighed, seeming slightly disappointed in me. “I’m sorry for making you all worry…” I apologised, feeling pretty damn guilty. Kageyama leaned over and whacked me on the head. I quickly grabbed my head, trying to ease the pain.  
“As long as you realise it, dumbass…” He muttered as he looked away. I continued gently rubbing my head as I sat down. There was still some food left, so I helped myself. Everyone seemed surprisingly calm, but they were probably panicking on the inside. I knew I was… Nothing really happened in the cafeteria. Everyone just their own conversations that were completely unrelated to our current situation. It seemed like everyone was in denial. It all felt so superficial. The day just flew by. Nothing happened at all. Before I even knew it, it was night time again. This didn’t feel right. I felt nervous, but there was nothing I could do about it, so in the end, I just went to sleep.

I ended up waking up much than I did yesterday. I woke up a 6:30AM. I still felt incredibly nervous, so I was just sat on my bed, trying to think of something to do that would take my mind off of my worries. There had to be something that could sooth my nerves. Anything at all. Oh, hang on, there was those CD players in the music room! Yeah, music will help me calm down! With a destination finally in mind, I sprung off of my bed and began making my way over to the music room.

I didn’t see many people on my way to the music room, just Sugawara who was headed to the bathhouse in search for a towel to dry his hair, which was dripping wet from his shower. It was actually kinda eerie in the early morning. Barely anyone was around and it was deathly quiet. Oh well, at least I’ll be able to drown out the silence with music once I get to the music room. Speaking of, I was actually outside the room, right next to the doors already! I really need to stop daydreaming while walking… I shook my head slightly as I made a mental note to myself not to daydream so much and I casually swung open the door. I was greeting by an unexpected sight. A body sprawled out on the stage, with bright red streaming from its crushed head. I was greeted by the body of Issei Matsukawa. My legs gave out and I collapsed onto the floor as I screamed at the horrifying sight.  
“Hinata?! Are you okay?!” I heard Kageyama call out to me anxiously. I must have startled him with my scream. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t answer him. I was completely paralysed with fear as I stared at the corpse in front of me. Tears began to form, stinging my eyes.  
“Hinata?! What’s wrong?!” This time, the voice belonged to Sugawara. The two of them ran over to me, checking for any possible injuries and, once they decided I was okay, began to slowly lift me off the ground. I didn’t look at them even once. My eyes were glued to Matsukawa. The two of them suddenly realised that I was staring at something and turned their heads to see what I was looking at. That was when they saw him. They yelped in shock and ended up dropping me back onto the floor.

“Bing Bong! Bing Bong! A body has been discovered! After a brief investigation period, a class trial will commence!”


	16. Chapter 5 - Friends, Rivals and The Dearly Departed - Deadly Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And another chapter. Yeah, I know it's short, I'm sorry about that, but I haven't been doing too well recently so I couldn't really find the motivation or inspiration to write.  
> Again, sorry about that.

How? How did this happen? Everyone seemed so calm and carefree yesterday. I knew that something felt off. It was all just an act. In the end, our fear always gets the better of us. I felt tears streaming down my face. Just a few days ago, Matsukawa was comforting me when I was blaming myself for Iwaizumi’s death. Just a few days ago, Matsukawa was making me laugh until my sides ached. Now, he’s lying dead on the music stage. How can life just end so suddenly? It’s not fair. It’s terrifying. I can’t take this anymore. Kageyama and Sugawara must have realised that they had dropped me, ‘cause I felt their arms slowly wrap around my waist and gently pull me up to my feet. They had to hold me for a few minutes since my legs were still kinda wobbly. Within those minutes, everyone else had made their way over to the music room. Everyone, including Hanamaki, who froze the moment he saw Matsukawa’s body.  
“Mattsun…” He whispered in disbelief, eyes wide open in shock. It hurt to see him like this. He was usually so happy and full of life and joking around, but now, he looked half dead. I didn’t blame him at all, but it still hurt to see him like that. I tried to walk over to him, but my legs still wouldn’t work properly. I found it so ironic. I came to this room to relax and listen to music, and instead, I find a dead body and become even more anxious than I already was. As I was about to speak to Hanamaki, a certain sadistic bear appeared out of nowhere.  
“Yahoo!! You did it! You brilliant bastard, I love you! Oh, but who did it? That’s for you lot to figure out! But, wow, you sure are a big ol’ softie, killing to protect your friends… D’awwwww, that’s adorable!” He cheered excitedly in a mocking tone. When saw that none of us were going to respond to him, he just carried on, slightly dejectedly. “Aaaaaaaanyways, here’s the Monokuma File to help you guys out… I’ll call you when time’s up, I guess…” And with that, he plodded away with his head hanging down. After he had left, everyone began to move off into their own little groups to begin their investigations. As I began to walk towards the body, a hand clasped down onto my shoulder and stopped me. I peered over my shoulder to see who it was. It was Kageyama.  
“Um, did you need something?” I asked awkwardly, unsure why he stopped me.  
“I’m gonna be investigating with you.” He informed me, very bluntly.  
“Uhh, okay… Why?” I asked, still confused.  
“1. You scared the hell outta me yesterday, just because of you were sleeping, I’m gonna be keeping an eye on you from now on, and 2. You could barely stand up earlier, you’re gonna need someone to help you get around.” He explained in a slightly sarcastic tone. I could help but laugh at his sincerity and his awkward way of displaying his concern for me.  
“Okay then!” I agreed, in between giggles. I really was grateful for Kageyama’s concern, it made me feel safe. Before I walked over to the body, I thought it was probably best for me to check the Monokuma File before I actually began to investigate.

[Monokuma File No. 6  
Victim – Issei Matsukawa, Third Year, Aoba Jousai High School  
Location – Body discovered in Music Room, Third Floor  
The victim suffered blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Their head sustained a very large injury. Death was instant. There are no other injuries that the victim sustained, both external and internal. The estimated time of death is 00:10AM]

Just the one injury? I can’t decide if that’ll make the investigation easier or harder. Also, instant death? While I wish that he had never died at all, I’m just glad that he didn’t have to suffer… I looked over at Kageyama, who was also reading his Monokuma File. After a while, he sighed and slipped his E-Handbook back into his pocket.  
“Well, we’re not gonna learn the killer from just this, so let’s start investigating already.” He stated as he began wandering over to the body.  
“Right” I quickly agreed as I followed close behind him.

The Monokuma File was right… His head injury is large… In all honestly, it was making me feeling kinda faint. My legs were beginning to feel shaky again. Kageyama suddenly grabbed hold of my arm.  
“I know it’s horrible, but we’ve gotta do it, so let’s just suck it up, get it done quickly, and investigate somewhere else, okay?” He told me. His voice was both stern and comforting. A strange combination, but it did make me feel slightly better. I simply nodded my head as I knelt down to get a closer look at the body. I really didn’t wanna look at the injury any closer, but if I’m gonna investigate Matsukawa’s body, it has to be a thorough investigation. Damn, that injury is big… He must have been hit by something big… And heavy… What could have made an injury that big, though? And more importantly:  
“Why was Matsukawa here at that time of night?” I didn’t mean to say that out loud, but apparently I did, as Kageyama looked over at me, then closed his eyes in thought.  
“That’s a good point…” He muttered quietly as he absent-mindedly scratched the back of his head.  
“I think I know why.” A voice suddenly spoke up from behind us. We whipped around to see Hanamaki.  
“W-Where did you come from?” I asked, slightly startled by his sudden appearance.  
“I, uh, I was stood outside the room for a while. I needed a few minutes to collect my thoughts, y’know?” He sighed, looking away. I understood what he meant, so I decided not to push him any further on that subject.  
“So, you said that you thought you knew why Matsukawa was here at that time?” Kageyama asked expectantly, crossing his arms and leaning forward slightly.  
“Yeah, he couldn’t relax at all yesterday and said that he wished he could listen to some music for a while, and I reminded him that there were CD’s and radio’s in the music room, so he decided to head up here for a little while.” Hanamaki explained slowly.  
“Do you remember what time it was when he left to come here?” I asked, hoping for some more specific information. Hanamaki crossed his arms and lowered his head as he began to think.  
“It was around 11:50PM… We were in my room chatting, but I was really tired so I fell asleep as soon as he left. When I woke up in morning, I didn’t think it was weird that he wasn’t there, I just assumed that he had gone back to his own room…” He told us in a very quiet voice. Guilt seemed to be written all over his face. I hated seeing him like that, so I patted him on the shoulder, which caused him to look up at me.  
“Please don’t blame yourself, it’s not your fault at all. We were all affected by that motive, not just you two. We all know exactly how you feel.” I assured him in the softest voice I could muster. I flashed him a sympathetic smile. Hanamaki didn’t say anything, he just nodded. It was silent for a while, until Kageyama spoke up.  
“Well, I think we’re done investigating his body, we should go investigate somewhere else now.” He announced to me.  
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” I agreed with him as I took my hand off of Hanamaki’s shoulder and began walking towards Kageyama.  
“I think I’m just gonna stay here and keep watch over Mattsun…” Hanamaki quietly spoke up, causing us to stop in our tracks and look at him as he kneeled down and sat next to Matsukawa’s body.  
“Yeah, I think he’d appreciate that.” I replied, a sad smile spreading across my face. And with that, Kageyama and I walked over to our next investigation area.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Victim’s Injury – The victim’s body only sustained one large head injury. What could have possibly caused such a huge injury with one blow?  
Hanamaki’s Testimony – The victim was in Hanamaki’s room chatting with him until 11:50PM when he left for the music room to listen to music. Hanamaki didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, due to being extremely tired.]

We decided to check the small repair area to the side of the stage, as no one else had investigated there yet, so we just thought that we might as well.  
“Are you sure we should check here? There doesn’t seem to be anything…” Kageyama muttered.  
“Well, no one else has searched here yet. Plus, this area’s small and dark, it’s basically the perfect place to hide evidence.” I answered confidently. Kageyama just hummed in response and began searching through the drawers, so I decided to check everywhere else.  
I headed straight to the area where the instruments and sound equipment that needed to be fixed were put. It was pretty cramped over there, so I figured it was a good place to start. I searched through all of the smaller instruments first. Nothing. Okay, then, how about the sound equipment? Other than some loose wires that nearly shocked me, nothing again. I sighed quietly to myself and leaned forward to get a better look. After doing that, I noticed that there was one more thing in that corner, mostly hidden by the curtain hanging off the edge of the stage. I took a careful step forward, trying not to break any of the items any more than they already were, and yanked the curtain off the item and back onto the stage. I froze.  
“Kageyama?”  
“Yeah?”  
“I… Um, I think I found the murder weapon…”  
“What?!” Kageyama instantly stopped what he was doing and came over to see what I had discovered. I had found a mint coloured guitar with its bottom part stained bright red and dripping onto the floor below it. I couldn’t help but gulp at the sight. I looked over at Kageyama, who seemed just as unnerved as I was. “H-How the hell did they use a guitar as a weapon?” He asked, anxious and confused.  
“I think they probably held it like this-” I started, as I reluctantly picked up the guitar by the thin part at the top and then positioned it in a way that I was holding it with both hands. “And then, swung it right into Matsukawa’s head.” I continued as I gently swung it a few inches as a demonstration. Kageyama still seemed dumbfounded as he spoke up.  
“So… You’re saying the killer… Essentially used the guitar like a baseball bat?” There was disbelief clear in his voice.  
“I think it’s the most likely explanation, yeah…” I admitted as I carefully placed the guitar back down where I had discovered it. I turned to look at Kageyama who seemed to still be having a hard time believing it, so I carried on. “I mean, it fits the wound. It’d have to be something large and heavy, which that guitar is… Plus, paired with the speed it was mostly likely swung at, I don’t really find it surprising that Matsukawa died instantly…” Kageyama had covered his eyes with his hand at this point, as he thought over the scenario I suggested and eventually started nodding.  
“Yeah… You’re probably right…” He reluctantly agreed with my suggestion. I still wasn’t entirely convinced.  
“You sure? You okay?” I asked, slightly worried. Kageyama lowered his hand and looked at me with weary eyes.  
“Yeah… It’s just… I can’t stand hearing you talk about murders… It’s not right…” He muttered as he stood up and turned away from me. I understood after that. He was worried about me in his own awkward way. I tried to think of something to say, anything to reassure him, but I couldn’t think of anything. Kageyama sighed and started to walk off. I remained silent and quickly followed.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Murder Weapon – The murder weapon is a guitar. The murder weapon was found, hidden by the side of the stage and covered by the curtain.]

I didn’t really know where we were headed next, I was just following Kageyama. He walked towards the storage room and opened the door. I thought he was just gonna storm through and ignore me, but he actually stopped and held the door open for me. I was surprised, to be perfectly honest. I thought I had pissed him off, but he still seemed to be watching out for me. He looked at me expectantly.  
“You coming in or not?” He asked, with a confused look on his face. It was then when I realised that I had zoned out for a while.  
“Oh! Uh, yeah, of course” I replied awkwardly as I quickly jogged through the door. Kageyama didn’t seem entirely convinced as he raised an eyebrow and watched me closely as I entered the room.  
“Soooo, what are looking for in here?” I asked, not sure why Kageyama chose to investigate here.  
“Anything, really. Well, anything that seems out of the ordinary, that is.” Kageyama replied as he began inspecting the drawers and cabinets in the room.  
“Okay…?” I responded, very confused. So, I’m guessing what he means is, there isn’t a reason why we’re looking in here. He just had a hunch. Sighing dejectedly, I wandered over to the over side of the room and began searching through the cupboards. There wasn’t really anything strange or anything that stood out to me as I scanned through the contents. I scanned through each row monotonously, discovering absolutely nothing, until I reached the bottom row.  
“Hm?” I hummed out curiously. “Hey Kageyama, there’s some missing CD’s over here. Does that count as out of the ordinary?” I asked, unsure if my discovery was anything of note. Kageyama’s head quickly spun round to my direction as he stood up and began walking over towards to me. He kneeled down next to me and peered at the area I pointed to.  
“I wonder…” He muttered as he retrieved his Monokuma File from his pocket. “He left at 11:50PM and died at 00:10PM… With the length of the corridors and how long the stairs are, it would have taken him about fifteen minutes to walk from the dormitories to the music room… That would only leave five minutes between his arrival and his death…” He mumbled to himself, frowning is extreme concentration.  
“Um, okay? So?” I asked, not sure where Kageyama was going with his line of thinking.  
“He wouldn’t have had enough time to retrieve a music player, CD’s and headphones, and get back onto the stage, especially since none of us know exactly what CD’s are here, he would have at least browsed for a little while, right?” He explained. Huh. That’s true… But, if that’s the case…  
“Where’d the CD’s go, then?” Kageyama glanced at me as I asked that question.  
“Well, since he was murdered here, then I suppose it’s likely that someone else was already here when he arrived.” He responded, matter-of-factly. He’s right, that’s the most likely option… I shook my head as I stood up.  
“Let’s see if we can find those CD’s, they might point us towards the killer.” I suggested, offering my hand to help Kageyama up.  
“Good idea.” He agreed, nodding as he grabbed my hand and let me pull him up into a standing position. Now that we had an idea of what we were searching for, we left the room, this time, with me holding the door open for Kageyama.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Missing Equipment – A portable music player, a pair of headphones, and a handful of CD’s are missing from the Music Storage Room. The victim didn’t have enough time to take them, so someone else must have entered the room first and taken them.]

“So, where should we start searching?” I asked nonchalantly as we stepped back into the main music room.  
“How the hell am I supposed to know? Where are we gonna find some CD’s in a room like this?” Kageyama snapped back at me, slightly irritated. As he said that, a face popped through the curtains on the left hand side of the stage, catching both of us off guard. The face belonged to Nishinoya.  
“Did I hear that you two are looking for some CD’s?” He asked bluntly.  
“Uhh… Yeah?” I answered, still slightly caught off guard by his sudden appearance.  
“Well, we found some hidden back here, if that helps!” He informed with a grin as he retreated back into the curtain. Kageyama and I looked at each other.  
“Huh. Well, that was a lot easier than I was expecting!” I told him, a triumphant smile on my face.  
“Not that I’m complaining.” Kageyama chuckled as he walked towards the curtains and vanished between them. I quickly followed. Nishinoya was there waiting for us, and pointed at the area he wanted us to look at when we arrived. Let’s see… A portable music player, some headphones, and a few CD’s… Yeah, that was everything that was missing from the Storage Room.  
“Everything’s here.” I said, looking to Kageyama for confirmation. He just silently nodded his head.  
“Oh! By the way, spare instruments are usually kept here, but there’s one missing…” Nishinoya suddenly mentioned, tilting his head slightly. Kageyama looked me as he spoke.  
“Was it mint coloured, by any chance?” He asked Nishinoya.  
“Uhh… Yeah, I think that’s what Kyoutani said.” Nishinoya answered, squeezing his eyes as he tried to remember.  
“Well, if that’s the case, we’ve already found it.” I informed him. Nishinoya flinched at my remark and looked like he was about to ask for more details, so I continued speaking. “We found it over there, in the repair area. It was covered by the curtain. But, uh, there was blood all over it, so I think it’s safe to say that it’s the murder weapon…” I awkwardly finished, unsure how Nishinoya would react. His eyes were wide open in surprise. His eyebrows knitted together as he tried to think of what to say.  
“Well, thanks to that information, I think it’s possible that the killer was hiding over here.” He stated eventually.  
“How’d you mean?” I asked, not sure what he meant.  
“Well, I mean, we found the music player, headphones and CD’s here… And a guitar that’s meant to be over here, is over there… I just thought that maybe the killer hid over here, attacked Matsukawa, and then hid the guitar over on the other side of the stage, but forgot about the music stuff…” He explained slowly, as if he was unsure about his own theory. Kageyama let out a thoughtful hum as he considered Nishinoya’s idea.  
“That’s a great idea, Nishinoya! Why hadn’t I considered that?” I cheered, thankful to have a possible lead. Nishinoya grinned and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head at my compliment.

[New Evidence Obtained  
Found Music Equipment – The music equipment from the Storage Room was discovered in the left side of the stage. It’s possible that the killer forgot to return the equipment to its original location.  
Missing Guitar – The guitar that was used as the murder weapon was originally located in the left side of the stage. It’s possible that killer was hiding in the stage’s left hand side before attacking Matsukawa.]

After Kageyama and I had finished talking to Nishinoya, we pushed our way back through the curtains to the main part of the stage.  
“So, where should we investigate next?” I asked Kageyama as I hopped off the stage. Kageyama followed suite. He thought about it for a while before responding.  
“I honestly have no idea…” He admitted with a dejected sigh. As we continued to think, we were interrupted by the monitors flickering on.  
“Heyyyyyyyy, everybody! I’m really, really super bored now, sooooooo, come to the trial room now… Like, right now… Get your asses moving!” Monokuma snapped quickly. When his announcement finished, the monitors flickered off again.  
“Already?!” I yelled out in a panic.  
“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Kageyama huffed in irritation. Everyone else had the same reaction, but we had no choice but to follow Monokuma’s orders, so we just reluctantly made our way down to the elevator.

The elevator ride was a very tense one. Everyone felt as though we didn’t get enough time to investigate. But, how do we explain that to a sadistic teddy bear that doesn’t care about our feelings and, more often than not, didn’t even bother listening to us. As the elevator shuddered to a halt, I took a deep breath to prepare myself and plastered a determined glare onto my face. I will find the killer. Monokuma probably finds it hilarious that he cut our investigation time short, so I’ll prove him wrong by finding the killer.

“Ladies and Gentleman, let the fifth class trial of our school life of mutual killing… Commence!”


	17. Chapter 5 - Friends, Rivals and The Dearly Departed - Class Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand I'm finally done with this chapter. I'm actually kinda happy with this one. Also, I've got a two week break from school, so I'm probably not gonna be doing any writing during those weeks, 'cause they're my first chance to have a break in quite a while. So, I'm sorry but I really just want to relax for a while, school has completely drained me.

Once again, we took our positions behind our podiums, grimacing at the new portraits of Yahaba and Matsukawa. I really hated the red paint on those portraits, I felt faint whenever I saw it, it really did look like blood. I can’t believe we’re doing this for this fifth time… When is all of this gonna end? I’m sick of it…  
“Welp, you guys know the drill, Matsukawa’s dead and gone, you gotta find whodunit, yada, yada, yada… Get to it already, I’m bored.” Monokuma muttered with a bored expression on his face. I hated that damn plushie so much. He just sees this as entertainment. I glared at him quickly before turning my attention back to the centre of the court room.  
“Well, I’d like to start with how he died, ‘cause I honestly have no idea what could have caused an injury like that…” Daichi spoke up, not sounding as confident as he usually does.  
“Oh! Uh, Hinata and Kageyama told me that they found the murder weapon, if that’d help.” Nishinoya butted in, pointing at the two of us, despite us being on opposite sides of the court. Everyone’s attention turned onto us.  
“Is that true, Hinata?” Yamaguchi asked, astonished.  
“Uh, yeah, we found it hidden in the repair area, buried under the stage curtain.” I explained sheepishly, uncomfortable with the feeling of everyone’s stares burning into me.  
“Well, what was it?” Satori asked, seeming kind of irritated at me… I’m not sure why…  
“It was a guitar. One of that was originally on the left side of the stage. We could tell that it was the murder weapon because there was blood all over it.” Kageyama announced, shooting me a quick glance. Ah, I see. He saw how uncomfortable I was, so he turned everyone’s attention onto him. I gave a curt nod to say ‘thank you’.  
“A… Guitar? Seriously?” Sugawara asked in disbelief, his jaw wide open.  
“Well, provided it was swung with speed, a guitar could create an injury as big as Matsukawa’s…” Daichi analysed, placing his hand on his chin.  
“Okay, so, we’ve discovered the murder weapon, now the question is: When did the killer attack Matsukawa? I mean, it’s obvious when they attacked him, ‘cause he died instantly, what I mean is, where were they and what were they doing before it happened. I doubt they were just waiting there for some poor idiot to walk in and become their victim… I mean, there was no way to tell that someone was definitely going to go up there, right?” Satori spoke up. He had a good point. Waiting for a possible victim in the music room seemed kinda pointless to me… If they wanted a definite chance to ambush someone and kill them, they would hidden in the first floor toilets, or something. It just didn’t make any sense.

Everyone silently thought it over, with the sound of Monokuma’s humming in the background. I had an idea of what could have happened, but I was desperately trying to think of a way to word it and evidence to back up my theory. I still hadn’t pieced it together, but I might as well make a start, just so we can get somewhere. I let out a large breath and spoke up.  
“Well, I think the killer went to the music room for same reason as Matsukawa: They wanted to listen to music.” I stated bluntly.  
“Okay? And what makes you think that?” Satori asked, in a slightly mocking tone. What was his problem? I get that it’s infuriating to be forced to hold another class trial, but c’mon.  
“Because when Kageyama and I went to check the storage room, there was a portable music player, a pair of headphones and a selection of CD’s missing from there. Thanks to Nishinoya, we discovered that they had all been moved to the left wing of the stage. I think that this means that killer just went up to the music room to listen to music, they had no intention to kill when they went up there.” I explained and shared my opinions.  
“And why do you think that?” Tanaka enquired, his head tilted slightly in confusion.  
“Well, I mean, if they were planning to murder, they would have spent their time preparing for it, instead they clearly spent their time picking out CD’s to listen to and finding a comfortable place to listen to them.” I theorised, unsure if what I was saying was actually what happened, but it was worth a shot anyway.  
“If that’s the case, why would they attack Matsukawa?” Tsukishima asked, crossing his arms. I thought about it for a second.  
“They probably saw an opportunity. Matsukawa probably caught them off guard when he came into the room, so they probably panicked a bit and ended up making some noise. I have a feeling that if Matsukawa heard a noise coming from the stage, he’d probably go and investigate it. If the killer was hiding in the left wing, they probably stumbled across the guitar. Combine a large object and an unsuspecting person facing the opposite direction with the fear of someone special to them being killed, the adrenaline probably caused them to act without thinking about it… At least that’s what I think might have happened…” I shared my idea, before quickly clamming up and sheepishly scratching the back of my head. Everyone stared at me in stunned silence. Um… I felt uncomfortable again… Why won’t anyone say anything?  
“Seriously… When the hell did you get so smart? It’s creepy…” Tsukishima muttered as he stared at me intently.  
“H-Huh? What?” I stammered nervously, waving my arms around in front of myself in a panic.  
“That’s brilliant, Hinata. How did you think of that?” Kiyoko praised me with a slight sweet smile on her face.  
“Huh? Oh, um, well, I just considered all of the pieces of evidence and tried to piece them all together to create a picture of how things might have happened… I guess…” I sheepishly whispered as I averted my gaze and felt my face flushing a bright red. I noticed that everyone was still staring at me, so I tried to carry the trial along. “A-Anyway, the main question we have now is when did the killer get to the music room?” That caused everyone else to start thinking.  
“Well, it’s safe to say that the killer got to the music room earlier than Matsukawa, maybe even before he left, if Matsukawa didn’t see anyone on his way there… Hanamaki, when did you say that Matsukawa left to go to the music room?” Kageyama muttered thoughtfully as he focused his attention onto Hanamaki. Hanamaki flinched at the sudden mention of his name.  
“He left at about 11:50PM…” He answered quietly.  
“It would have probably taken him about fifteen minutes to walk up all of the stairs and corridors… That adds up with the time of death…” Daichi muttered to himself.  
“I personally don’t think that the killer could have been there for over an hour… I mean, some of us were still awake and walking around the first floor at 11:00PM. Someone would have seen them.” I thought out loud. I noticed some people nodding in agreement, but everyone stayed silent. After a few minutes, Sugawara hesitantly raised his hand with a guilty expression on his face.  
“Um, Suga, are you okay?” Daichi asked worriedly. Suga sighed anxiously before speaking up.  
“I, uh, I didn’t really wanna say this, but, um, I saw Tsukishima heading towards the stairs at about 11:30PM when I was leaving my room to go to the boys’ toilets…” He murmured quietly as he hung his head and stared at the floor. Everyone froze and stared at Tsukishima.  
“That’s ridiculous! How could you say that?! Tsukki would never kill anyone! What’s wrong with you?!” Yamaguchi yelled, instantly jumping to Tsukishima’s defence. Sugawara flinched at Yamaguchi’s words. I could tell that he really didn’t to focus the suspicions onto Tsukishima, but he had to share what could potentially be valuable information. Yamaguchi continued yelling but stopped when Tsukishima raised his arms in surrender. “Tsukki…?” Yamaguchi called out his nickname, confusion and worry clear in his voice and face.  
“Alright… You got me… I killed him…” Tsukishima admitted, avoiding eye contact with everyone, especially Yamaguchi. Yamaguchi began nervously laughing.  
“Y-You’re joking, right? Tsukki? Yeah? Hahaha, very funny, c’mon stop now” He asked, desperately. I noticed that he was shaking slightly. I couldn’t bear to see him like this. Tsukishima sighed as he lowered his arms back down to his sides.  
“Why would I joke about something like this? Sugawara brought up some irrefutable evidence of my involvement. Even if I lied, it would obvious that I did it. I might as well just admit defeat.” He explained, absolutely no emotion in his voice at all. Yamaguchi was completely silent, his eyes wide open in fear and confusion. Tsukishima let a breathy chuckle. “Seriously, though, Hinata, when the hell did you get so smart? Everything happened exactly the way you guessed it… That’s creepy…” He had an amused smile on his face, but it still looked kinda… sad.  
“Um… Just so we’re clear, can we hear the story from your point of view?” I asked quietly, averting my gaze from him slightly.  
“Yeah, of course… I may have acted calm, but I was really freaking out over that damn motive, so I went to the music room, just to listen to some music and hopefully calm down. It was working pretty well, but after I had been there for about ten minutes, the door suddenly swung open and I panicked again. I quickly hid in the stage’s left wing, but I accidentally dropped some of the CD’s, so Matsukawa ended up hearing me. When he appeared on the stage, I was terrified, so I kept backing up, until my back hit a guitar. That’s when I got the idea and my anxiety took over… I didn’t even realise what I was doing until I felt the impact of the guitar hitting his head… But, obviously, that was too late… I didn’t really know what to do, so I just hid the guitar and ran… And that’s about it.” He explained slowly, guilt very clear in his voice.  
“W-Wait! Tsukki, you couldn’t have done that! You were in my room! I saw in there at night, and you were there when I woke up! You couldn’t have left at all!” Yamaguchi objected desperately, tears forming in his eyes.  
“That’s ridiculous, Yamaguchi. You fell asleep at 11:15PM, I left the room after you had fallen asleep, and then returned way before you had woken up. Don’t try to lie, I’ve already admitted to it.” Tsukishima interjected sternly.  
“But-“  
“Shut up, Yamaguchi.”  
“U-Um, I know that this probably doesn’t have anything to do with our discussion, but who did you want to protect so badly that you’d kill?” Nishinoya awkwardly asked as he raised his slightly. Tsukishima didn’t say anything. He just pulled two photographs out of his pocket and displayed them both to us. The first one was of Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi. Kuroo and Bokuto were up to their usual shenanigans while Akaashi just watched over them in the background, looking like an exhausted mother. And the other photo was clearly taken a few years ago, as Tsukishima was still a child in it. And on either side of him, was his older brother, Akiteru, and his best friend, Yamaguchi.  
It was at this point that Yamaguchi had broken down crying, tears streaming down his face, his eyes bright red. He had to cling onto his podium just to prevent himself from falling down onto the floor. Tsukishima let out a pained sigh.  
“Well, everything’s been revealed, so we might as well end it now…” Tsukishima announced as he stepped away from his podium. He turned to face Hanamaki and Kyoutani and bowed. “I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I’m sorry for taking your friend away from you.” Kyoutani just huffed in response, but he sounded a lot less aggressive than he usually did. Hanamaki sadly shook his head.  
“It’s okay, I don’t blame you at all. We all know who’s to blame for this.” He assured Tsukishima with a quick glance towards a certain plushie. Tsukishima let a quiet giggle as he began to walk away from the two and towards Yamaguchi, who was still sobbing his eyes out. As he walked, he slowly took off his glasses. When he was stood next to Yamaguchi, he gently grabbed his hand and pulled it towards him. Yamaguchi looked at him with wide, glistening eyes, full of confusion. Tsukishima placed his glasses and the photo of the two and Akiteru into Yamaguchi’s palm and softly ruffled Yamaguchi’s hair.  
“You’ve always been a bit of a crybaby, haven’t you? You should try to stop that, I know you can.” He told him, chuckling slightly and genuine smile on his face. Yamaguchi wailed out and clung onto Tsukishima’s waist tightly.  
“C’mon, you know that this isn’t what you should be doing… You don’t need me. Just keep on living and smiling, that’s enough to make me happy.” Tsukishima sighed softly as he shoved Yamaguchi off of himself and towards Tanaka who placed his hands on Yamaguchi’s shoulders to prevent him from running towards Tsukishima again. “Well, Monokuma? Get on with it already.” Tsukishima huffed, glaring at the stuffed bear with his hands on his hips.  
“Alright! Alright! Geez, no need to be so rude!” Monokuma muttered in an irritated tone.  
“You’re forcing us to kill each other. There is a need to be rude.” Tsukishima snapped back, an unimpressed look on his face.  
“…Touché.” Monokuma admitted defeat. It made me kinda happy to see Tsukishima like this. Even though Monokuma has complete control over, he’s still making sassy comebacks. He doesn’t seem scared at all. It was amazing. Monokuma recomposed himself and cleared his throat. “Ahem. Now then, I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Karasuno’s snarky giant, Kei Tsukishima! Let’s give it everything we’ve got! Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s Punishment Time!”

G A M E O V E R  
K E I T S U K I S H I M A H A S B E E N F O U N D G U I L T Y  
T H E P U N I S H M E N T W I L L N O W C O M M E N C E

Tsukishima stood in the middle of the deathly silent punishment grounds. Nothing seemed to be happening, until a strange rumbling began vibrating through the floor. Tsukishima’s body tensed as he began to look around, trying to find what was creating the vibrations. Then, they appeared. Huge shadows shaped like Monokuma that towered above Tsukishima. All at once they began moving towards Tsukishima, taking huge strides and shaking the ground with each and every step. The blond quickly sensed the danger and began running away from all of them, trying desperately to avoid each footstep of the multiple giants. As he was running, he suddenly tripped and collapsed onto the ground. He tried desperately and quickly to stand up again. But it was too late. One of the giants took a step forward, and stood on his legs. A sickening ‘crunch’ echoed through the room along with Tsukishima’s screams of agony. As the giant pulled up its foot again, we were able to see Tsukishima’s legs, or at least what remained of them. They were completely crushed. Blood pouring out and chunks of broken bone were visible. Tsukishima wearily looked over his shoulder at the giant that was rearing up to stomp down on him again. Tsukishima closed his eyes and rested his head onto the floor, completely accepting his death. Then, the giant lowered its foot and Tsukishima completely disappeared from our sight. All we could see of him was the scarlet blood oozing out from underneath the giant’s foot.

Yamaguchi was on his knees, clinging to the fence that separated us and Tsukishima. His wails echoed throughout the entire room as tears and snot rushed from his scrunched shut eyes, down his face and tumbled down onto the floor beneath him. We all tried talking to him, attempting to comfort him and calm him down. But, he didn’t hear us. To him, we weren’t there. The only thing he saw was the crushed pulp that used to be his best friend. That’s when Monokuma appeared.  
“Wahahahahaha!! That was perfect! I always wanted him to find out what it felt like to be the tiny person!” He cheered out maniacally. We remained silent. Monokuma pouted. “Fiiiiiiiine, don’t listen to me, then. Why don’t you just go to bed and cry yourselves to sleep?” That was when I had finally decided that I had had enough.  
“Shut. Up.” I snarled, venom dripping from my voice as I clenched my fist in frustration.  
“What did you just say?!” Monokuma gasped in surprise.  
“I said ‘Shut up’. We’re not going to do as you tell us. We’re not going back to our rooms yet. We’re staying here with Yamaguchi. And if you’ve got a problem with that, why don’t just you just go to bed and cry yourself to sleep?” I snapped in as stern a voice I could muster. Monokuma didn’t say anything. He just stood there in shock for a few seconds then turned around and walked off while muttering to himself. After he left, I let out a breath I didn’t realise I was holding in and turned to face Yamaguchi. After we had all composed ourselves after that confrontation, we all tried our best to comfort him.

In the end, Yamaguchi had ended up crying himself to sleep. His breathing slowed down, but his cheeks were still damp and his eyes were still red and swollen. Daichi and Sugawara wanted to take him back to his room, but Kageyama and I insisted that we wanted to do it.  
“We’re the only first years left, after all” We pointed out. And now, we were slowly wandering through the dorm area towards Yamaguchi’s room, me walking slightly ahead to open any doors and Kageyama slowly trudging through the corridors with a quietly snoring Yamaguchi resting on his back. When we reached his room, I quietly and gently opened the door and let Kageyama walk through. After that, I quickly pulled back Yamaguchi’s duvet and Kageyama softly placed him in bed and took off his shoes, and I gently pulled the duvet back over him. After we made sure that he was safe and comfy, we silently left the room and closed the door with a quiet ‘click’. I began to walk back to my room when Kageyama suddenly spoke up.  
“Hey Hinata, could… Could we talk for a while?” He awkwardly asked, fidgeting with his hands slightly. I gave a small nod.  
“Sure, let’s talk in my room.” I said, walking over to my room, which was across the hall from Yamaguchi’s room. Once we made it in, I took a seat on my bed and Kageyama sat in the armchair in the corner of the room. “So, what did you want to talk about?” I asked him. Kageyama frowned and sighed.  
“I… I don’t really know… I’m just worried about what’s been happening recently…” He admitted eventually.  
“Well, I can understand that…” I muttered quietly, swinging my legs slightly.  
“Yeah… But… It’s just… I’m worried about you…” He mumbled in response.  
“Huh? Me? Why’s that?” I asked, caught off guard.  
“Well, I mean, so many bad things have happened to you… You found the first body, we got into that fight… I… I hurt you… When we got given that disease, you coughed up blood and fell unconscious… And now you’re being reckless and talking back to Monokuma… Why wouldn’t I be worried about you?” He explained quietly, looking down at the floor. I didn’t really know how to respond to that.  
“Well… Yeah, all of that happened, but that just shows how determined we are. We’re gonna survive this.” I replied, trying desperately to hide my insecurity. Kageyama hummed in agreement, but he didn’t sound very enthusiastic.  
“I will get you out of this place, okay? You know I’d do anything to protect you, right?” Kageyama spoke up, suddenly sounding very determined. I had no idea how to respond to that one. I felt my face flush pink and all I could do was stutter awkwardly. Kageyama must have noticed this, as he quickly changed the subject. “Hey, Hinata, who was on the photo you got?”  
“Kenma, Lev, and Inuoka. What about yours?” I answered, curious about his photo.  
“Not important.” He answered as stood up and began walking towards the door. As he walked, he stopped in front of me. “Hey, Hinata, promise me that we’re both gonna get outta here alive.” He requested, extending his hand towards me with his pinky pointing towards me. I sat there for a few seconds before wrapping my pinky around his.  
“I promise.”


	18. Chapter 6 - The Sun Will Never Shine Again - Daily Life

For the first time in quite a while, I felt well-rested when I woke up. I still couldn’t believe that Tsukishima was gone, but Kageyama’s promise to escape this place together definitely comforted me quite a bit. I’d never seen him act so fragile before, it was honestly kinda shocking to see him act like that. But, at the same time, I still felt his determination and I couldn’t help but feel motivated from his words. We will survive. And we will get out of here. I let out a determined huff as I stood up from my bed and quickly brushed my hair so it didn’t look like a mess and opened my door, ready to face this day with newfound confidence. As I walked down the corridor, I heard a door open and close behind me. I instinctively turned around to see what the sound was. It was Yamaguchi. His eyes were still slightly red, but he seemed to be well-rested, although, that wasn’t really surprising, considering how he cried himself to sleep. However, something about him seemed different. I couldn’t quite tell what it was, but he had changed somehow. As he got closer to me, I noticed something on his chest. It was Tsukishima’s glasses, hanging from the collar of his t-shirt. I couldn’t help but smile gently at the sight. It was nice to see him honouring Tsukishima’s memory in his own way. As Yamaguchi approached me, I raised my hand and waved at him.  
“Good morning, Yamaguchi.” I greeted him softly. He swiftly nodded at me.  
“Good morning, Hinata.” He replied bluntly. I couldn’t help but worry about him.  
“How are you feeling?” I asked cautiously, not wanting to upset him again.  
“I’m fine… I actually woke up a while ago, I’ve just been thinking about something…” He answered me in a quiet voice.  
“Oh? What were you thinking about? I-If you don’t mind me asking…” I enquired, unsure if he would be comfortable with sharing.  
“I was just thinking about Tsukki… And what he’d want me to do… At first, I fought that I couldn’t really go on without him, I mean, he’s my best friend, he’s always been there for me… So, when I thought he wouldn’t be there for me anymore, I couldn’t stand it… But, then I thought about what he’d want…” He explained slowly, as if he was still arranging his thoughts. I didn’t say anything. I just decided to let him share his feelings at his own pace. After taking a big breath, Yamaguchi continued. “I don’t think he’d appreciate it if I just gave up and died now, so… I’m gonna keep on living… For his sake.” He announced, a sudden gleam of determination in his eyes. I let out a sigh of relief as a gentle smile spread across my face. I reached over and patted him on the shoulder.  
“I’m proud of you, Yamaguchi. And, I’m sure Tsukishima is, too.” I said. Yamaguchi’s eyes started to appear quite wet but dried up after Yamaguchi quickly wiped his eyes.  
“Thanks, Hinata. That… That really means a lot.” He replied, a grateful smile on his face. I nodded slightly back at him. After a quick stop to hide any hints that Yamaguchi had been crying, we silently made our way over to the cafeteria.

It was honestly unnerving how, every time we entered the cafeteria, it was quieter and emptier than the last time we entered. I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind and sat down next to Kageyama, who was absent-mindedly fiddling with the bottom of his t-shirt. He didn’t even notice that I was there until I poked him on the shoulder, causing him to flinch. He stared at me with wide open eyes.  
“Thanks for the goddamn heart attack!” He huffed, placing his hand on his chest and shaking his head disapprovingly.  
“Well, good morning to you too!” I replied, unable to hold back my giggles. Kageyama sighed and continued to shake his head, but I noticed the smirk that crept onto his face. As I was about to talk to him again, Kiyoko and Sugawara emerged from the kitchen, bringing breakfast out with them. They carefully set the plates down onto the table, and everyone happily helped themselves. A little while later, Yui came out, bringing out the drinks before setting them down and quickly going back to fetch cups for everyone. There wasn’t talk during breakfast. I think it was partially because we were all hungry, and partially because no one wanted to talk about what happened yesterday. I didn’t blame them, though. I felt exactly the same way. Besides, I couldn’t think of anything else to talk about, so I just decided to finish eating in silence.

Once we had finished eating, like clockwork, Daichi stood up and made an announcement.  
“I’m sure you guys know what I’m about to say, but I’m gonna say it anyway. Three new rooms have been opened up, and the fourth floor is now available to us. So, I want us to split into three groups, two groups of four, one group of five, and investigate these rooms. So, let’s get to it already.” As soon as he had finished talking, everyone stood up and began arranging themselves into groups. Kageyama sighed as he glanced around the room.  
“Well, we’ve already got two members… What are we gonna do about the other two?” He muttered while scratching the back of his head.  
“Two members?” I asked, tilting my head and gazing up at Kageyama in confusion.  
“Yeah…? You and me?” He answered, looking just as confused.  
“When did I agree to team up with you?” I asked, placing my hands behind my back.  
“Wha-?” He froze and stared at me in disbelief. After seeing the look on his face, I couldn’t hold back my laughter anymore. Kageyama still stared at me, but his disbelief had morphed back into confusion.  
“I’m just joking, of course I wanna team up with you!” I explained, clutching my stomach and wiping my eye as I tried to stop my laughter. Kageyama gasped as he finally understood.  
“Don’t scare me like that…” He muttered as he looked away and pouted. I patted his shoulder comfortingly as my giggles began to die down. It was only then that I noticed that Yamaguchi had been standing there the entire time. I quickly cleared my throat before talking to him.  
“What’s up?” I asked, desperately trying to hold back my grin. Yamaguchi looked like he wanted to question us about why I was laughing and Kageyama was pouting, but decided not to.  
“I wanted to team up with you guys, that’s all. So, can I?” He asked sweetly. I had finally calmed down from my laughing fit, so I could finally respond to him seriously.  
“Sure! That’d be great, right, Kageyama?” I looked over at Kageyama, who seemed to no longer be pouting.  
“It’s fine with me, now we’ve just gotta find one more person.” He answered bluntly, looking around the room again. He didn’t need to look for long as Nishinoya came jogging towards us.  
“Heyyy! You guys look like you need a senpai to watch over you! Wanna team up?” He called out with his usual enthusiastic grin on his face. I couldn’t help but smirk at his words. Although, I appreciated how he was always looking out for us.  
“Sure, that’d be a huge help. Thank you, Nishinoya-senpai.” Yamaguchi thanked him, bowing slightly. Nishinoya turned his head slightly to hide the proud smile that was forming on his face. I nodded in agreement to Yamaguchi’s words.  
“Well, looks like we’ve got a whole group now, let’s see where Daichi wants us to investigate” Kageyama announced as he began walking off, gesturing for us to follow him.

Once we had reached the top of the fourth flight of stairs, I collapsed onto the floor and tried desperately to catch my breath.  
“W-Why do these stairs have… have to be so… long?” Yamaguchi gasped out, lying next to me.  
“H-How about… we take five minutes just to… get our breath back?” Nishinoya huffed out, only staying on his feet by leaning on the railing next to the stairs.  
“That’s… a good idea.” Kageyama agreed breathlessly. I couldn’t even say anything, so I just nodded. Just how tall was this building? The stairs in this place went on forever. I had always heard that Hope’s Peak was huge, but I never expected it to be this huge… After I had managed to get my breath back, I sat up and began massaging my legs, in an attempt to get feeling back into them. Everyone else seemed to be slowly recovering too. After a while, Kageyama spoke up.  
“What room did Daichi want us to investigate again?” He asked, clearly having forgotten what Daichi told us earlier.  
“The Recreation Room.” Yamaguchi informed him simply as he stood up. “It seems like we’ve all recovered, so shall we get going?” He added, stretching slightly as he spoke. I gave my legs one final stretch before standing up and answering him.  
“Sure, I’m ready to go.” Yamaguchi and I looked over at Nishinoya and Kageyama, waiting for their opinions. Nishinoya grinned and nodded as he pushed himself off the railings, while Kageyama sighed as he rubbed the small of his back.  
“If everyone else is ready, we might as well. Let’s go.” He said as he began walking off, Nishinoya, Yamaguchi and I following him close behind.

When we had finally reached the Recreation Room, we all stood outside the door and stared at it.  
“What exactly would a recreation room have?” I asked, unsure of what to expect.  
“How the hell should I know?” Kageyama retorted, crossing his arms.  
“I guess, stuff to help people relax and have fun?” Yamaguchi suggested.  
“Probably.” Nishinoya agreed blankly. We went silent again and went back to staring at the door. After about a minute of the awkward silence, I finally leaned forward and opened the door. As I pushed the door open, the other three leaned forward to get a close look of the inside of the recreation room. It was bigger than I expected. And had a lot more inside than I expected, too. There were all sorts of things to keep us entertained: a pool table, a magazine rack, a shelf of books, a shelf of manga, chess, checkers, shogi, a few arcade games, a few vending machines and plenty of chairs for people to sit down and relax. We all stood there in awe for a few seconds before composing ourselves and discussing our course of action.  
“Well, we’ll need to examine everything, just in case there’s something hidden somewhere inside them.” Kageyama announced. We all agreed.  
“So, who’s gonna search where?” I asked.  
“How about this? I search the pool table, the arcade games and the vending machines; Shoyo searches the shelves; Yamaguchi searches the board games, and Kageyama searches the chairs. How’s that?” Nishinoya suggested, pointing to each area as he listed them. He looked at us expectantly, waiting for our opinions.  
“I’m fine with that.” Yamaguchi replied.  
“Mmhm, me too.” I agreed. Kageyama just nodded and hummed in agreement. After hearing all of our opinions, Nishinoya grinned brightly.  
“Okie dokie! Let’s get to it, then!” He excitedly announced as he spun around and headed towards the pool table. Everyone else did the same. I stretched quickly before heading over to the shelves.

There were a lot more books than I expected… There weren’t all that many magazines, so it was easy to flick through all of them. Although, I didn’t find anything out of the ordinary… But, then there was the manga and the books… The manga should be fine, since they’re all around the same size… It’s just the books I’m dreading… Some of them are small, some of them are huge, and there’s just so many of them… I sighed as a picked up the first volume of the manga and prayed that I would be distracted as I flicked through looking for any type of clue.

Twenty five minutes later, I had finally finished the manga shelves, partially thanks to getting distracted by some shounen and sports manga… But, that’s not the point! There was absolutely nothing of value in any of them. Although, on a different note, I had never realised just how many genres of manga there are, I mean, I do tend to stick to one genre… And I do have to read a lot of magical girl series’ to Natsu… So, I guess I never really tried to check anything new out… I stretched my arms and back before even trying to make a start on the book shelves. My back let out a satisfying ‘click’ as I stretched, causing me to sigh in relief. I rubbed my back as I glanced up at all of the books I had to flick through. I grumbled slightly under my breath before sucking it up and getting started.

Forty three minutes later, I had finally finished checking each and every book, inside and out, and I felt as if my soul had left my body. I groaned exhaustedly as I leaned back and flopped onto the cold, hard floor. Nishinoya noticed me lying there and decided to check on me.  
“Find anything?” He asked, as he continued feeling around the back of one of the arcade games.  
“Absolutely nothing…” I huffed in irritation.  
“Ahh, well… Take a break. You deserve it.” He told me, a sweet smile on his face.  
“Thanks…” I tiredly called out, lifting my hand to gesture ‘thanks’ but it almost instantly flopped back down to my side from how tired I was. I couldn’t see Nishinoya, since I was staring at the ceiling, but I heard him chuckling to himself. I sighed as I just lied there, completely exhausted. After a while, my vision started to blur, and soon after that, I ended up falling asleep.

I woke up from Kageyama calling out to me and poking me. I groaned slightly and swatted his hand away as I slowly sat back up. I yawned and ruffled my hair, while Kageyama just sighed.  
“Took you long enough to wake up…” He muttered with his hand outstretched to me. I didn’t say anything as I took his hand and he carefully pulled me up into a standing position. I looked behind Kageyama and noticed that Nishinoya and Yamaguchi were leisurely sat in the seats in the corner of the room.  
“Did you guys find anything?” I asked hopefully, as I removed my hand from Kageyama’s and began walking towards them. Kageyama shook his head.  
“Nope.” Nishinoya responded simply, making a pop noise when he pronounced the ‘p’.  
“Not a single thing.” Yamaguchi added, looking slightly dejected. I sighed quietly to myself. Nothing helpful here then… It was completely silent for a while, then Kageyama spoke up.  
“Well, we seem to be finished here… Why don’t we just head back to the cafeteria now?” He awkwardly suggested while we all stared at him.  
“Might as well.” I muttered while having a quick stretch.  
“Yeah, there’s nothing else to do here…” Yamaguchi quietly agreed.  
“Yeah, besides, I’m hungry, let’s get some food.” Nishinoya added as he nonchalantly began strolling towards the door.  
“Well, let’s go, then.” Kageyama quickly declared as he awkwardly jogged after Nishinoya, who had already left the room. I couldn't help but giggle quietly to myself, and apparently Yamaguchi felt the same, as he cutely tried to hide his grin with his hand. I gave him a friendly pat on the back and gestured for him to follow as I began jogging towards the door. Sure enough, I heard the sound of his shoes clicking against the floor as I began carefully jogging down the stairs.

Surprisingly, our group was the last one to arrive at the cafeteria. Well, I suppose it did take us a while to examine everything… We quickly took our seats so that the reports could begin and, sure enough, as soon as we sat down, Daichi stood up.  
“Okay, as usual, my group will report first. My group, which consisted of myself, Sugawara, Hanamaki, and Kyoutani, investigated the biology lab. There wasn’t much in there, just a normal classroom layout with some plants on one side of the room, stuffed animals on the other side, and one of those models of the human body that shows all of the organs.” As he finished announcing that, Nishinoya decided to stand up and report next.  
“My group, which was made up of Kageyama, Shoyo, Yamaguchi, and me, were told to investigate the recreation room. We didn’t find any clues on the mastermind or how to escape in there, but there was a pool table, some board games, some arcade games, and shelves full of books, manga, magazines and all that kinda stuff, so it’d probably be great place to go if you need to relax.” He explained to the group before quickly sitting back down. Everyone started muttering amongst themselves, seemingly excited by the contents of the recreation room. I smiled slightly. Well, at least this should help us kill some of our boredom. After everyone had quietened down, Kiyoko stood up to give the third and final report of today.  
“My group, which consisted of Tanaka, Michimiya, Tendou, Ushijima, and myself, were assigned to investigate the indoor garden. As the name suggests, it is a large garden inside of the school. The plants grow thanks to artificial sunlight created by the special light bulbs in the ceiling. There are all types of flowers, plants, and trees within the garden, and there is also a shed full of gardening tools, so if you use those, please be careful. The garden has quite a relaxing atmosphere, so I’d recommend going there if you’re feeling stressed out.” As she finished reporting, Kiyoko daintily sat down, and quickly took off her glasses and began washing them. Everyone began muttering amongst themselves again, unsure what to think of what had been reported. I mean, I’m glad that we’ve got some new places to help us relax, but seriously? Not a single new thing on the mastermind? Not a single hint on how to escape? I started to feel quite hopeless, but I quickly remembered Kageyama’s promise and shook my head to get rid of all the negative thoughts swirling around in my head. As I finished shaking my head, I noticed that Kageyama was staring at me with a baffled look on his face.  
“What the hell are you doing…?” He asked cautiously, leaning away from me slightly.  
“Um, nothing… in particular…”I awkwardly replied, feeling my face start to flush a slight pink. I slowly looked away from Kageyama to avoid any further embarrassment. As I did, I noticed that Kiyoko, Yui, Sugawara and Yamaguchi were all walking into the kitchen. I’m guessing that they’re going to make food for all of us.  
“Y’know…” I was distracted from that sight by Kageyama suddenly speaking up. I turned around to look at him. He had a surprisingly serious look on his face.  
“Yeah?” I asked, encouraging him to continue talking.  
“Well, I’ve been thinking lately… You remember that motive where we were given those pills that raised our anxiety and adrenaline levels?” He quietly asked, seeming as if he wanted this conversation to only be heard by the two of us. I gently leaned in closer to him so I could hear him better, but not close enough to cause anyone to be suspicious of our conversation.  
“Yeah, what about it?” I asked, curious to see where he was going with this.  
“Well, Monokuma said that the pills had been hidden in our food, right? So, what I’ve been thinking is… I think it’s a possibility that one of the people who was making the food back then… Might be the mastermind.” He explained. I had to try my hardest to hide my surprise.  
“H-How’d you come to that conclusion?” I asked him, slightly rattled.  
“Think about it. If the mastermind was making food, they would have had the perfect opportunity to sneak the pills into the food while everyone else’s backs were turned, right? Do you remember who made food that day?” He quickly asked. I shook my head slightly.  
“I remember that a group of people made the food that day, but the only people I can remember from that group are Kiyoko and Yachi…” I awkwardly admitted, slightly embarrassed by my poor memory. Kageyama nodded thoughtfully after hearing my words.  
“That’s understandable. I think that the mastermind might’ve been counting on that when they did it…” He muttered, his hand resting his chin. I remained silent. He had a point, but he didn’t really have any proof… I felt a pit of uneasiness in my stomach, but I didn’t really know what to do about it. As I continued thinking, Kageyama spoke up again. “I’m thinking of looking into the mastermind.” The uneasiness I felt grew the instant I heard those words.  
“A-Are you crazy?! What if they catch you?! What’d happen to you?!” I objected, trying desperately to keep my voice down.  
“Look, I know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to anything that isn’t volleyball, but I’m not that dumb, at least give me some credit.” He refuted with a slight grin and a chuckle. Something caught his attention, as his eyes suddenly darted to the side. “They’re bringing the food out now, just don’t mention anything about this conversation to anyone, okay?” He informed me as Yamaguchi approached the table with a huge plate in each hand. I wanted to argue against his idea, but I had no idea what to say, so I had no choice but to stay silent. As all of the food was brought out, I stared down at the food with a dejected look on my face. The conversation with Kageyama had made me lose my appetite, but I still ate to avoid drawing any suspicions to myself.

When everyone had finished eating, they all split into small groups and began chatting to each other. Everyone except me. I had felt so hopeful and determined this morning, but now I felt like giving up on everything. Damn Kageyama, why’d he have to get a stupid idea like that? I fidgeted with my hands as I stared at the floor. What the hell was I supposed to do? I had no idea what to do in this kind of situation… Kageyama had never been this reckless before… How the hell was I able to talk sense into him while he had an idea like that in his head? As all of those thoughts swirled around in my head, a certain irritating rang out across the room.  
“Hey hey, boys and girls, you know what time it is! Are you ready… for your brand spanking new motive?!” Monokuma announced excitedly, waving his arms around wildly. Everyone huffed and groaned at the plushie’s appearance. “Now, now, I know you’re all ecstatic to see me, but please calm down while I hand out and explain this motive!” He added sarcastically as he began waddling around the room, handing a small package to everyone. After he had handed one to me, I stared at it in confusion.  
“The hell is this?” I muttered to myself.  
“Now then, let me explain! First of all, I would like all of you to open those packages and look at what’s inside.” Monokuma instructed us. I carefully lifted the lid off of the small box. Inside was a simple phone. I picked it up and took out of the box, twirling it around in my hand to get a closer look at it. What does this phone have to do with the motive? As I wondered that, Monokuma continued with his explanation. “You see those phones? Each one only has one number on it. That number belongs to someone who is extremely close to you. If you commit a murder, your phone will instantly receive a signal and you’ll be able to call that person, but only if you murder someone! And incidentally, the person whose number you have is the person whose picture is displayed on the phone.” After hearing that, I pressed the button to see whose picture was on my phone. As the phone’s screen illuminated, my eyes widened in surprise.  
“Natsu?!” I yelled out, confused and anxious. I remembered the video that I had been shown for the first motive as I turned my attention towards Monokuma. “Does this mean that Natsu’s okay?!” I asked, desperate to know. Monokuma just grinned at me.  
“I dunno, does it? For all you know, the number could be a dud, but at the same time, it could be real… You won’t know until you kill someone, will you?” He teased, dragging every syllable one second too long before chuckling to himself and walking off. Anxiety began coursing through my body all over again. Is Natsu okay?! I need to know! I looked around at everyone else, and they all seemed just as anxious as I did. But, that didn’t change how I felt at all. I felt tears starting to prick at my eyes, so I ran off to my dorm room. I heard people calling after me, but I didn’t care. Once I reached my room, I slammed and locked my door before collapsing to the floor in tears, wondering if my little sister was even alive or not.

I remember waking up and heading over to the cafeteria for breakfast in the morning, but I can’t remember any of the details. Honestly? Ever since I cried myself to sleep, everything had been in a haze. I couldn’t think properly or concentrate on anything, my mind just kept wandering back to Natsu and whether or not she was okay as time kept on flying by. I know that people were talking to me, but I couldn’t hear them. It felt like I was in a different plain of existence ‘cause I could see everything around me, but I just couldn’t connect or respond to any of it. After a while, I stood up and slowly wandered back to my dorm room. I didn’t even really think about doing that, my body just kinda moved on its own, like it was on autopilot or something. After I returned to my room, I just sat there on my bed, staring into space. Ever since Monokuma gave us that goddamn motive, I’ve just felt empty. I have no idea what I’m actually doing. My brain just wasn’t working at all and my body just moved on its own to get me through the day. I couldn’t help it… I just needed to know about Natsu’s wellbeing… Is she alive? Is she okay? Is she safe? All of these questions just kept swarming around my head. There’s gotta be some way that I can find out. If I just…. No. No. No, I can’t do that. Why the fuck did my brain go there? I don’t wanna do that. But, I need to know… What the hell do I do? I don’t wanna kill anyone… But… Natsu… Please, for the love of God, let her be okay… The more these questions swarmed around my head, the more distressed I felt. In the end, I decided to walk around the school to find something to keep me distracted. When I left my room, it was already slightly dark. I guess I’d been lost in my thoughts for longer than I’d thought… I guess I’ll just find something to keep me occupied and then go back to bed…

 

 

 

When I woke up, I felt really groggy, just like every other day in this hellhole… I stretched as I sat up and pushed myself off my bed, ruffling my hair to make it look at least presentable. I slowly walked over to the cafeteria, yawning loudly as I had to keep rubbing sleep from my eyes. God, I’m tired… I wanted to get some extra sleep, but we all promised to meet up in the cafeteria every morning, so I had to drag myself over to the cafeteria, despite how much I didn’t want to… I swung the door open, and was slightly surprised to notice that I wasn’t the last person to arrive as I sauntered sleepily into the room and took a seat. It was weirdly quietly this morning, though… Everyone else was probably just as tired as I was, but I couldn’t help but feel slightly uneasy… I sat there silently, frowning at the floor, trying to convince myself that there was nothing to feel uneasy about. As I continued to try and think rationally, I was startled by a sudden scream that sounded like it came from above us. Everything quickly leaped out of their seats, but nowhere near as quickly as Tanaka and Nishinoya.  
“Kiyoko-San!” They yelled out in unison as they bolted towards the door at full speed. Myself and everyone else ran off after them as fast as we could. Sugawara and I finally managed to catch up to them as they were jogging up the second flight of stairs. We finally found Kiyoko as she was running down a corridor on the third floor towards the stairs to the second floor, tears streaming from her eyes and her hand covering her mouth in shock. She quickly stopped when she saw us.  
“What’s wrong?! What happened?!” I quickly asked her, slightly scared to actually know. Kiyoko didn’t say anything, she just pointed towards the stairs that lead to the fourth floor as tears kept streaming down her face and she kept gasping for air. I began walking towards the stairs with Sugawara as Tanaka and Nishinoya stayed with Kiyoko to comfort her and help her calm down. As I approached the stairs, I finally noticed what had startled Kiyoko so much. A body sprawled painfully across the stairs, their feet near the top of the stairs and their head near the bottom. Their arm raised above their head, almost reaching the lowest step of the stairs, as if they were reaching out for help. Their eyes wide open in terror with dried tears staining their deathly pale face. Their mouth, despite being covered by tape, was clearly wide open from their screams of pain. And, their entire body was covered in dozens of stab wounds, all of which had bright crimson blood slowly oozing out of them. I was staring at the tiny dead body of Shoyo Hinata.

Sugawara’s eyes were wide open in horror and disbelief, as his entire body shuddered from the horrific sight.  
“W-What… What the hell…? What the hell’s going on, Kageyama?!” He yelled out, his voice cracking slightly in fear. I didn’t respond. I didn’t know how to respond. I just blankly stared at the lifeless body of the boy who was my best friend. I couldn’t do anything as I felt something break inside me and tears silently began pouring down my face, as I absent-mindedly muttered.  
“Why did you break our promise?”

“Bing Bong! Bing Bong! A body has been discovered! After a brief investigation period, we will commence with the class trial!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY!!!  
> I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, I took a two week break during my half term, just 'cause I needed to relax, then I needed to finish off my final few parts of coursework, and then I just needed to regain some motivation, 'cause school has killed all of my motivation, tbh...  
> But, anyway, I've been wanting to write this chapter since I started this fic, so I'm really excited to hear you guys' reactions to it!  
> And, just in case it wasn't clear enough, or if you're slightly confused, the POV has switched from Hinata to Kageyama, and it switched after Hinata started wandering around at night. What happened to him? Well, you'll have to wait to find that out, won't you? >:3c


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